And Know the Difference Between a Goal and a Plan

If you think about it, we really don’t need too many goals in life. For example, an income goal probably is not truly a goal, but a plan for obtaining some other desire, such as the ability to vacation on a resort island, which itself is not necessarily a goal but a plan for achieving some desired emotional state.

The distinction is important in a goal-centric society that defines success as obtaining your goals. If you didn’t get that salary increase you set as a goal did you fail? And therefore if you couldn’t go on that island vacation you set as a goal did you fail? What if all you really wanted was to spend a week by the water alone with your family? Maybe a drive three hours away to stay at a lakeside hotel accomplishes the true goal. The salary and the island resort were just plans that had to be adjusted.

On our projects it is important to recognize the difference between our plans and our goals. With plans, be open to surprises that both disappoint and delight, and adjust as necessary.