"Smart Goals Can Kill You!" ☠️
"Smart Goals Can Kill You!" ☠️
The wise words of my expedition leader.
Last October, after many months of training and planning, I joined an amazing group of individuals on an expedition in The Scottish Highlands.
3 days of rafting, hiking and wild camping. 🚣♂️🏕️⛰️
We had to carry everything on our backs, including our rafts when hiking! Well over 20kg's. 💪
During a couple of days of theory training in the comfort of a bunkhouse near Fort William our leader asked us to set ourselves some goals.
Mine was to camp on a beautiful island with Caribbean looking beaches and pristine water. Totally feasible in the planning stage. 🏖️
When we told him them, this was his response!
"In this environment smart goals can kill you!"
“You'll set your mind on getting from A to B in a certain time frame and conditions will change for the worse. You'll either overextend and expose yourself to unacceptable risk or else you'll feel like a failure for not achieving your goals.” 😢
Mount Everest is littered with SMART goal victims.
The key is to set yourself META goals.
My new goals were to learn, grow and enjoy the trip.
It turned out to be the worst rain in a generation. The roads down to Glasgow were so flooded it was police escort only!
There was no way we could stick to our original route, despite months of planning.
We went ahead and adapted. I absolutely smashed all my goals. It was amazing. So much more so than if the sun had shone. 😀
I realised that rigid SMART goals could actually hinder progress.
This has had profound implications beyond wild expeditions—it's equally applicable to our personal and professional lives.
Taking these lessons into all areas of my life have been transformational. I'm achieving so much more and loving the journey.
A simple example is I now no longer run with a timer or music and as a result I run further and more often. And I enjoy it! And I don't dread waking up in the morning knowing I have to run.
I used to try and beat my time, every time...and it was painful.
The only reason for setting SMART running goals was ego and let's face it, I'm never going to win the Olympics.
So why META Over SMART?
Here's how embracing META goals can lead to a more fulfilling journey:
Career:
Instead of fixating on specific job titles or salary benchmarks, focus on cultivating a versatile skill set and fostering a mindset of lifelong growth and learning. Find work you love and your passion will take you so much further. Enjoy the ride.
Personal Growth:
META goals encourage you to prioritise self-improvement and personal fulfilment over ticking off a list of achievements. This might include developing a new hobby, enhancing your emotional intelligence, or simply finding joy in the everyday.
Health and Fitness:
Rather than obsessing over numbers on a scale or a strict exercise regimen, set goals to nurture your overall well-being. Listen to your body, find physical activities you enjoy, and create a balanced routine that supports both mental and physical health.
Relationships:
Cultivate deeper connections by focusing on qualities such as empathy, communication, and understanding. META goals in relationships mean striving to be present and supportive, rather than meeting quantifiable objectives.
Embracing the Journey
Adopting META goals has not only opened up a portal to remarkable personal achievements but also made the journey itself more enjoyable and rewarding.
They encourage embracing the process, fostering growth and adaptability, and finding joy and fulfilment in the journey rather than just the destination.
It's about valuing growth, learning, and adaptability over rigid outcomes.
Whether you're navigating career transitions, personal challenges, or everyday life, META goals offer a flexible framework that promotes resilience and fulfilment.
I encourage you to reflect on areas of your life where adopting META goals could make a significant difference. They’ve certainly changed my quality of life!
Watching Recommendation 🎥
A beautiful and profound short video from the great philosopher, Alan Watts. “The whole point of dancing is the dance.”
Reading Recommendation 📘
Carol Dweck's groundbreaking work introduces the concept of a "growth mindset," the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. This book aligns with the essence of META goals by emphasising the importance of loving the process of learning and growing, rather than fixating on specific achievements. Dweck's insights can help you cultivate resilience and flexibility, essential qualities for setting and pursuing META goals.
Podcast Recommendation👂
"Hidden Brain: Embrace the Chaos" by Shankar Vedantam
In this episode, Shankar Vedantam explores how humans deal with chaos and unpredictability in our lives and how embracing these elements can lead to better outcomes than trying to control everything. The discussion includes examples from various fields and expert opinions on the benefits of adaptability and openness to change. This episode offers valuable lessons on the importance of flexibility in goal setting and how adopting a META goal approach can help us navigate life's uncertainties more effectively.
