Weekly Thought – June 17, 2025
Fred often differentiated between goals and direction. In consulting and mentoring he stressed the importance of understanding the nature of direction.
Reading Life’s Mile Markers
Choosing a goal in life is not our most important decision; choosing our direction is. Chasing short-range goals can take us in the wrong direction. Mature success and satisfaction come from the direction in which we move, not in the goals we attain.
Too much goal orientation brings us the same problem Harvard Business School found in the “case study” format for instruction. Bright young students learned to solve problems rather than identifying opportunities. The real progress in life comes in the recognition of potential. Problem solving is certainly key, but it part of the process of seizing opportunities. Too much focus on goal-orientation allows us to become almost mechanical in our approach to life. The totally technological perspective on life threatens to turn us into computers. Who would want that?
I oppose setting an ultimate goal for one’s life. I do not support a specific, definable, measurable place in life. In this I mean material, educational, professional accomplishments, and certainly not character and spiritual maturity aims. When one in essence says “By 45 I will have a net worth of $X, a country club membership, a luxury car, and a notable career,” it creates a system for decision making locked in by these markers.
In my experience I have seen the futility of those who used a deterministic mindset actually achieving the goals (many times before the due date) only to recognize a huge letdown. They climbed the mountain, assuming success would create fulfillment, but when they checked off the goals they realized it was too limited.
I am not opposed to planning, but I am much more interest in making decision based on the impact they will have on who I will ultimately become if I take the path being considered. I don’t want to be so focused on goals that I get to the top of the ladder only to see it is leaning against the wrong wall. A high achieving young executive stopped by the office to tell me, “I know my direction and I also know I need to seriously review my progress and revector as needed. Just a minimal move away from the chosen direction if not corrected can create disaster eventually.”
Goals are important as mile markers to confirm we are traveling in the right direction. But, I am convinced they are not to be an end in themselves.
This week seriously consider: 1) What work have I done to establish my life direction? 2) How do I answer “Am I satisfied with who I am becoming?” 3) Who serves as a model for a healthy life style?
Words of Wisdom: “The becoming is the joy in the journey.”
Wisdom from the Word: “I hereby guide you in the way of wisdom and I lead you in upright paths.” (Proverbs 4:11 NET Bible)