The Best Advice You’re Not Taking: The Real Reason You’re Not Setting Goals

A few years before I left my job, I started working with a coach whom I randomly met while sampling vegan cheese at a natural products expo.  The story on why I started working that coach is a whole conversation unto itself, but one of the first things we began working on together was my goals.  

In the productivity realm, there are entire books, series, courses, and software on goal setting.  The concept seems simple enough. You envision something that you would like to happen in the near or distant future and work toward it.  In this way setting a goal gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. Your goals help to focus your time, energy, and resources. They also spur you into acting now on your most important life dreams.

Although most people understand the importance of goal setting, few people do it. Here’s why.

Cynicism

Even though we revere athletes and successful business people for setting and achieving goals, in our own lives we look at goal setting with a healthy dose…