Why Focusing On Goals Is One of the Worst Ways to Achieve Them

Goal setting is overrated.

I know that probably goes against the advice you’ve heard from all the internet “gurus” out there, but hear me out. When people set goals, they involuntarily focus in the wrong direction. They attempt to achieve their goals in a way that sets them up for failure.

For many, setting goals creates anxiety and emotional stress. They want to achieve their goals so severely that they incessantly fixate on them, causing suffering and distress.

Their dreams slowly transform into nightmares.

To avoid massive heartbreak and giving up on your quest, read on.

The True Purpose of Goals

Goals serve one purpose: to determine a particular destination.

It’s like a GPS.

Your goal is the final destination, so you plug that in. Your GPS then–in real-time– reverse engineers the path you must travel to get there in the shortest, quickest time possible.

The goal is the destination. You know where you’re going and where you’ll end up. It’s job is done. Take your focus off of it.

Your ingenuity and resourcefulness are your GPS that will create the path to getting there through reverse engineering.

But guess what? You still need to travel the path.

Just like driving, if you focus solely on the destination (the goal) in the GPS, you’re liable to make a wrong turn or crash altogether.

Focusing on your action path is the way to get to the destination–the goal–safely and efficiently.

And every time you focus on the goal instead of what’s in front of you, you aren’t putting your total energy and focus into your actions.

When you have one foot in the future and the other in the now, you’re involuntarily multitasking. This splits your focus and hampers your productivity. It's like trying to drive while constantly changing lanes. Focus on one task at a time, one action at a time.

Science has proven multitasking is a lie. We may think we’re “multitasking,” but we’re task-switching. This act involves rapidly switching from one task to another, pausing, and returning to the previous task. We are quickly shifting our focus and attention from one task to another.

The result is having to restart the momentum.

So, what do we do?

Focus On the Gift

Bill Keane famously said:

When you solely focus on your goals, you focus on a future event. That might sound all fine and dandy, but it’s not.

While it’s better than complaining that you don’t have what you want, you’re still focused on the future. Which means you’re not living in the present.

When you fantasize and daydream about what your life will be like once you “have it,” you take the present for granted. You involuntarily waste these precious moments re-plugging the goal into the GPS.

You fall into the “I’ll be happy when…” syndrome, which means you’re not happy now.

Also, science shows focusing on goals can induce anxiety and waves of extreme emotional stress.

Social worker and mental health specialist Alexa Bailey says:

“Setting goals inherently requires the use of the critical thinking part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex. When a goal seems too large, it can trigger the amygdala, which is the fight, flight or freeze part of the brain. This means we have now shut down the reward and motivation system needed to access our decision-making skills with these stress neurochemicals.”

Stop fantasizing about the goal. You know your goal and what it will feel like once it’s yours. It’ll be wonderful.

Come back to the now. Live in the present, and shift your focus to what really matters.

Outcomes Are None of Your Business

The biggest problem with focusing on your goals is there are too many variables out of your control.

You cannot control how, where, when, or if you’ll achieve your goal.

To illustrate, let’s say you’re in sales, and your goal is to make $10,000 a month in commission.

You practice your sales script, take courses, read books, attend seminars, and rehearse navigating objections. Great.

However, no matter how well you do on a sales call or how much the prospect knows, likes, and trusts you, you can’t do anything if they’re not financially qualified. You can’t put money in their pocket. That’s out of your control.

If you only focus on your goal, this outcome will leave you feeling disappointed and upset. This emotional reaction will negatively affect your performance on the next sales call.

You won’t close them either because you’re not present, and the cycle continues.

Remember this: outcomes are out of your control.

By accepting this, you're freeing yourself from the burden of worrying about the result and, instead, focusing on what you can control. This shift in mindset can bring a sense of relief and freedom.

Yes, you can influence the outcomes and increase the probability of success, but you’ll never fully control the outcomes.

Instead, focus on what is in your control and let that be the victory.

The Path from Goal Setting to Goal Achievement

If you relentlessly focus on your goals, you’ll always keep score after every attempt to achieve them.

With each rejection, delay, and setback, you’ll spiral downward emotionally, eventually giving up. This is not how you want your story to end.

So, what do you do to ensure you stick to your journey?

Only focus on what’s in your control.

What does that mean? Your actions.

You focus on taking the actions that will advance you toward your goal, executing them to the best of your ability.

If you’re in sales, you can’t put money in someone’s pocket. You can only focus on your performance.

If you’re an actor, you can’t make them cast you. You can only focus on your audition.

If you’re a writer, you can’t guarantee your book will be a best seller. You can only focus on telling the best story in the best way possible.

And you have to let that be enough. That is the victory and the key to enduring.

Did you do everything in your power to make what was in your control the best you could make it? If so, that is the success. Take solace in knowing that.

When you let taking the actions be your victory, you’ll see your day as a success. And you’ll get up and do them the next day and each day after with enthusiasm and energy–not pressure and a sense of defeat. This mindset shift can bring a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, fueling your motivation and drive.

And it’s this process that separates the goal setters (and quitters) from the goal achievers.

Did you do your work today? Yes? Good.

Did you take action toward your goals today? Yeah? Excellent.

Did you give your all and do them to the best of your ability today? You did? Fabulous.

Compound those days over weeks, months, and years, and you’ll significantly improve your chances of achieving your goals.

The BMM Takeaway

People who need to achieve their goals are miserable.

It’s a negative obsession where they feel incomplete, craving the result to give the validation they lack.

The journey to your goals is a marathon. It takes a long, long time—sometimes years.

Crossing the finish line takes one second. One second of joy won’t compensate for all the misery you felt on the way to get there.

If you want to build a wall, don’t set out to make a massive wall and look for immediate results. You’ll never get it done, and you’ll quit in the process.

Instead, you focus on laying a brick as perfectly as possible. Once completed, you focus on the next brick and the next.

Over time, you wind up with The Great Wall of China. 

This is how you want to approach your goals.

You focus on the actions and the methods that move the needle. Centering your attention on the act allows you to reach a flow state where you enjoy the process.

And we all know that saying: “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

The time it takes to reach your goals will pass faster. More importantly, you won’t need the goal to feel good; you’ll be happy on the way to its fulfillment.