Today is goal day.

Normally it’s on Monday, but yesterday was Canada Day.

Anyway it’s a time where my accountability partner and myself sit down and discuss our goals. We talk about other things, but the main focus is the goals.

This has been a routine thing we have been doing for well over a year now. And as time went on, the more I’ve learned about goals. I’ve learned how effective they are in keeping us in check, motivated, and moving forward.

But I’m going a step farther here.

I can understand what people are like truly, based on the goals they set and how they go about them.

The reason I can tell is based solely on the year I’ve been discussing goals with my accountability partner. Plus my own personal experiences with goals.

Now, I don’t suggest you share your goals with other people and I still stand by that. Instead, use this article as a guide to determine your overall attitude towards achieving something.

If you don’t like it, make a change.

It’s your goals, therefore your responsibility.

The Frequency Of Check-ups & People Involved

Before we even get to the goals, let’s first analyze the things around it. First off is the frequency of your check-ups.

I know from my own experiences how often you visit can determine a lot on the success and failure of your goals.

If you are a person who checks up every month, then you are in favour of larger tasks that take up a lot of time.

You want big projects.

But at the same time you may be highly vulnerable to procrastination.

A lot of people find the appeal in doing mundane tasks more appealing than larger assignments. The longer due date is an excuse for people to put it off and do other things.

Conversely, if we give ourselves a shorter due date, we care about the work a little more. We care about getting the baby steps out of the way and getting things done faster.

We have a smaller window and thus we need to train ourselves to prioritize things within that smaller window.

Furthermore a smaller window to achieve goals means we appreciate the small steps rather than big leaps of progress. We are looking for the continuous and sustainable growth than the large, wind-up leaps.

When it comes to people, how many are involved matters a lot. As I said above, you don’t want to discuss your goals.

Part of that reason is people.

When your goals are public knowledge it can suggest you are looking for attention. You see the benefit of goal setting in the form of the publicity you might get from achieving those goals.

Some people say it builds character and a more trustworthy person. This can only help your image.

While that is good, it can also suggest that your goals are dictated by how you want people to think you are like rather than who you really are.

You become a tool for the public and you attach your success and failure heavily towards others rather than on yourself.

On the other hand, telling less people about your goals allows you to focus on the quality of people.

If you share little about it, it means you care deeply about your goals and aren’t aiming for others approval.

You only need your own.

The Number Of Goals

Next is the number of goals you set. At the end of the day, the number of goals, and the size of them will determine what kind of person you are.

If you are someone who sets small goals, but gives yourself a large window to achieve them, you lack confidence in your ability to achieve them. That or perhaps you really don’t care about the goals that you set.

If you give yourself small goals in a small window, you value small incremental progress. You are more focused and know how to prioritize your goals.

Larger goals in small windows suggest you enjoy the challenge and are a hard worker. You are an intense individual when it comes to work, but also highly creative.

But what also matters a lot is the amount of goals as well. Even though each of our goals competes with one another, people still feel compelled to set multiple goals.

If you are someone who sets a single goal every week, it can suggest you are focused and truly passionate about what you want to achieve. You have a deep understanding of yourself and know what you want.

The more goals that you set suggests uncertainty, or perhaps ambition to develop and hone multiple skills at once. Not exactly multi-tasking, but you understand that little effort in various areas is key to a balanced life.

Either that or you still feel stuck with what it is you want to achieve in your life. If you are someone who has over 6 goals set, depending on the frequency you are setting them, can suggest your passions are scattered.

While that isn’t a bad thing (we all want to leave behind many things), you may have trouble prioritizing what is most important now.

Goals Mould You

Of course, these are all my interpretations and others have different views. That’s alright. In fact, I encourage people to have different views of goals.

However I do encourage you to look at the goals that you set and listen to them.

Why did you set them?

Why did you give yourself this much time?

Why did you tell these people or no one at all?

In the end, goals shape us. It turned a lazy, procrastinating, no ambition, and hypocritical guy, into a focused, passionate, and caring man. A man who is willing to continue growing and will get there no matter the cost.

Goals have shaped me into that type of man and I believe goals have that power for all of us. All that matters is to understand deeply about the goals we set and the circumstances around them.

To your growth!

Eric S Burdon

Yesterday’s grind session was really good. I’ve been working with my client work and also putting together some posts on Medium. I felt passionate about the Member only post I posted yesterday.

Other than that, my Monday was a pretty typical Monday. It’s normally the days where I set my goals and that sets the tone for the rest of the week. There’s not much variety in my Monday’s, but there doesn’t need to be.

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