Recently, I stumbled across some goals I had written down on paper, and to my surprise, I saw that I had accomplished almost all of them. It felt like it took two years instead of one: I set them at the start of 2020, and by early 2022, 90% were fulfilled.
What a Goal Should Be
- MEASURABLE (achieved/not achieved). «I want a lot of money» is not a goal. But making $10,000 in monthly income in 5 years is a goal.
- NEXT LEVEL. You define what will significantly elevate you from your current life so that you genuinely want to do it—far above what you currently have.
- FLOW STATE. Any activity that is neither too hard nor too easy—meaning within your capability—triggers a state of flow. You know you can manage it and enjoy the process.
- DRIVE. If a goal energizes you, a drive emerges to pursue it and stay on track. You could call it motivation.
Key Takeaways
- It’s better to write them down on paper, not digitally
- Reread them as a benchmark at least once a month
Scientific Proof (added by ChatGPT)
- In 2015, a study published in the journal «Psychological Science» showed that participants who wrote down their goals achieved them twice as often as participants who did not write them down.
- There is also a study conducted by Harvard Business School showing that people who wrote down their goals and action plans reported higher life satisfaction and career growth than those who did not write down their goals.
In 2022, I really messed up with my goals and took them lightly, but now I will be much more careful with them, understanding what power lies within them—based on my own 2020 experience. Overall, I realized that 50% of success in work isn’t SEO, but psychology as a whole (discipline, drive, motivation).