The Value of Being Incomplete: What Are Your Goals for 2008?
The year is coming to a close. When December finally changes into January, I will inevitably get a bittersweet feeling of starting over again, as I anticipate the opportunities yet to come in 2008.
Here is another chance for me to embark on new ventures, to accomplish the plans I’ve made in the last year, to do what I failed to do before. One more chance to do something extraordinary; something that changes my life and everything around me.
I’ve been preoccupied with many thoughts on my websites and their future. It’s time to shake off the fear of the unknown and play around with the possibility of change. I am far too complacent and comfortable. Too unwilling to believe there’s a completely different way of doing things. Too lazy to explore alternatives.
If it ain’t broken. But it is. Time to evolve. New businesses to set up. Old ones to discard. 2008 will be an incredible year for me. It can be for you too. If you’re truly open to change, it will be a year you’ll never forget. A year you’ll remember.
I haven’t set any blogging goals for 2008. I don’t have any, actually. Goals can distort the way you value experiences. Better to evolve naturally for me. No expectations, no disappointments. External yardsticks and numbers can be deceptive. They make you reach when you shouldn’t. Stay when you should keep moving.
Image Credit: 3640450-R1-E012
Goals can be useful but you mustn’t depend on them to define yourself. We are taught that if you don’t have an aim in life, you’ll end up nowhere. If you don’t have concrete goals and work towards them, your website will never grow. Not true.
Goals are pathway markers and destination points. But they are also simply thoughts, conjured up and made concrete in one decisive moment. You can change them as easily as you flick a light switch. It takes less than five seconds. Try it.
So for 2008, be flexible and open. Grow. Take a chance and do something beyond what you consider to be realistic or practical. Bruce Mau has some tips to help:
- Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.
- Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we’ve already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.
- Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.
So, what are your goals for 2008?
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I just started blogging but I believe you have to set goals that you can accomplish in order to be succesful. What is a business plan without goals?
In my opinion it is a must.
My goal is to write at least 3 articles per week for in the first 20 weeks than increase this number to 5 articles per week for the next 10 weeks. When the goal has been reach in 30 weeks, I set new goals by reevaluating myself. I am just starting and have a difficult time to write high quality articles but try to write 3 articles per week. Not setting goals is the easy way out. Goals keep you focussed.
I don’t agree with your assertion that goals are not necessary. It may work for highly motivated and disciplined individuals but those individuals are exceptions. Vast majority of people are neither highly motivated nor well disciplined. Therefore, it’s very important for them to set realistic goals because it gives them the necessary motivation and discipline; without realistic goals (hence the lack of motivation and discipline) they will go nowhere!
Maki I have to say this is one of my new favorite posts on the web. Your straight-forward writing style has always, been of the utmost importance to me in understanding how to make money online, but now you’ve used it to drop some good philosophy, and I’m in complete agreement with what you’ve said.
If you live for a goal you’ve set, then when you reach it, you will have the same “goal-oriented” mindset, and the moment you’ve achieved will not be worth all the ones left behind to get there.
Glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks that the whole goal-setting thing isn’t right for everyone. Nobody’s saying goals aren’t necessary. It’s just that you don’t have to do them like some kind of freak who’s read way too many self-help books.
Some of the best blogs began by someone who just “began anywhere.”
I agree that goals are not always for everyone. Me personally, I just put forth my best effort every day and work towards what I think will benefit me personally in the future. I find that when you write down specific goals your tendencies are to stop once you reach that goal or feel depressed when you find that your goal was out of your reach. I think that having goals in terms of a place that you want to find yourself in the future is fine, and none of this would possible if we didn’t have that, but in terms of setting a specific time based goal it just isn’t right for some, including me. We all must remember that the journey is just as important as the destination and to not live too much in the future.
Hey Maki, my site is up now!
I have written a post on my blogging goals for 2008. My name points to the post.
Some of my other goals not listed on the post are to gain financial stability through and from my blog in one way or the other.
Very good article Maki. We have similar mindsets. Goals are good, but I don’t set many goals for myself. Not because I’m the type that is afraid of failure and believe that if I don’t have goals then I can never fail at them. I try to continue to move forward with new ideas and see where they take me. They could potentially take me down a different road from where my original goal was suppose to take me, who knows? I just try to stay motivated and continue to move forward and be dynamic I guess you could say and try not to get to hung up on a set of goals I wrote down. As you said, a goal is nothing more than a thought and can change in an instant. I think as I get better at designing, developing and blogging, everything about what I do will evolve and lead me down unexpected roads.
Anyway, I’m rambling. Good post.
I guess we have somewhat different opinions about the value of setting clear goals, no? http://bloggingbits.com/setting-your-goals-makes-you-200-more-productive/
I actually started setting goals about a year ago when I was asked “What is your dream?”. At that moment I came to a sad conclusion that not only I didn’t have a dream but also – as sad as it sounds – I didn’t have a goal in my life. This observation literally changed me. I set goals last years – and even reached part of them – and I’m about to set some for this year too.
So I do think it is important to set goals. It gives one some direction in life. But if one becomes obsessed with one’s goal – there is problem, then. Like Evan said before, the journey is as important as destination, but the question is what will this journey look like unless one shapes it…
Great post, Maki
Maki has “Goals can distort the way you value experiences. Better to evolve naturally for me. No expectations, no disappointments.” always been your philosophy or are you trying it out as something new for 2008?
On the other hand, if you have always felt that way, why not change that in 2008 and see what happens?
Whereas I don’t believe having perfectly laid out business plans with step by step goal oriented activities is for everyone, I do think it has extreme merit. I do not subscribe to Mr. Cage’s assertion that you can simply start anywhere as a way to overcome paralysis. The business sector is littered with folks who tried that approach and failed. Sometimes it’s better not to move simply for the sake of “doing something.” Doing something wrong can be more problematic than not doing anything at all. This is a dangerous message in business.
Tommy
Thanks for this post. Honestly, Nov/Dec have been months filled with realization. Not just about my potential, but what good I could do with it. I’ve got big dreams…and some goal tweaking to do for 2008.
It will be a year I’ll never forget. And, if I do it right, neither will a lot of other people.
Thanks for the inspiration.
I have given up on New Years resolutions. I still have the ten pounds I vowed to lose last year – and the year before!
As far as blogging goals, I prefer to follow the mood I happen to be in. Yes, I do intend to post as often as possible but the best advice in this article is to “begin anywhere.” If you allow it, things just show up in your mind and end up on the Internet. Getting there is all the fun!
I am still working out my blogging resolutions for Year 2008.
It is basically contains the goals and new obstructions that I wished and I have to face in Year 2008. I do agree with your say on the importance of goals. Also, a goal helps to motivate and make us stay on course.
General destination goals are fine (I want to be, do, have) but process goals should be done away with entirely. They say “no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy” and it’s also true that “no goal survives first contact with the reality”. The world doesn’t hold still long enough for you to hit a static goal; you, your target and your methods should be changing and updating at all times.
To put it another way – if your focus on blogging 5 days a week you would likely end up missing out on major (better) opportunities outside the blogosphere because you’re too focused on a process goal that doesn’t make sense.
Set up your goals is one thing,
how to achieve your goals is another thing,
sometimes, it is more important to understand why you didn’t achieve your goals than to get all your goals by luck.
Interesting point of view Maki, and I agree it can work for some people and on some situations.
I am an Economist, though, so I can’t help when it comes to setting down numbers and measuring things
.
I also like a phrase by Roman philosopher Seneca:
“When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.”
Maki ~ great post to get us thinking into the New Year!
I was recently asking the question, “Do you want your blog to flounder or flourish in 2008?” in a guest post I did over on NorthxEast.
It outlines what I hope to achieve but I really like your ‘evolve’ mentality and just letting it flow
There seems to be a bit of contention with the “goal setting” on this post and on the other posts, (more specifically Daniel’s and his commenter’s blogs/fellow group project entries)… I like goals, but I put forth a combo of both Daniel “The Economist” and Maki “The Philosopher” goals. I think it’s possible to set daily goals—like a daily “To Do List” and to reset it daily/weekly as we see fit in order to shed what’s not working for us, and grow from what is. My goals for 2008…. well, you’ll just have to come over to my corner of the blogosphere to check it out. Bwah-hahahaha! Season’s Greetings everyone and all the best to you and yours in the New Year!
I think goal setting ultimately works or doesn’t work depending on the individual’s mindset. If you are inclined to believe that goal setting will work for you, it probably will. If you are discouraged with seemingly random action, due to bad luck or poor results, goal setting might just work for you and you’ll probably be receptive to trying something different.
On the other hand, if you were born with more good luck than Bill Gates and you are equally successful, then you just might think that goal setting is for half-wits.
I can see value in both approaches, although I’m inclined to believe that some form of goal setting increases your changes for success. What can I say, I have a business degree.
@ Everyone
Thanks for your comments and apologies for not responding to each of you specifically. I think if it might be better if I clarified myself to everyone at the same time.
As I’ve mentioned, I think goals are very useful and I didn’t say that they aren’t necessary. I know how they can be used to increase productivity and mentioned their role in my article on strategic blogging.
I’m not disputing their value. My main concern is how goals can constrict your mind. Focusing one-pointedly on achieving numbers or vague ideals to be reached can stop you from evolving or thinking out the box, as least that’s how I feel at this point in my life. As some would say, its not the destination but the journey.
The journey can exist without a destination: It’s similar to leisurely walking the streets outside your hotel, in a new city you just visited for the first time. The experience itself is immensely refreshing and pleasurable.
In a way, goals are safety nets. They make sure you’re going somewhere. Moving towards something. Achieving an objective. But not having goals doesn’t mean that you’re in stasis. Having a flexible mind is important and I guess I’m trying to say this: don’t fixate on your goals if you have them.
And if you don’t… enjoy the freedom to do and try anything. Criticize yourself afterwards if you must. But do and try.
Happy holidays everyone!
I think this is my first comment on your website! I’ve been reading it for a little while and really appreciate your out of the box mindset.
I loved your phrase “they are also simply thoughts, conjured up and made concrete in one decisive moment.” Too often we allow ourselves to continue down a path because we set the destination as a goal without ever taking the time to think – am I on the right path? is there anything on the path that I should pick up? is it time to back track, choose another path or maybe just hang around?
Goals are just one element in getting to where you need to be – and that planning needs to be appropriately balanced with action, dreaming and believing (I’m paraphrasing Anatole France here). And I would add reflecting.
Hanging around and smelling the roses isn’t always a time waster – apart from the revitalisation and soul enrichment, you never know who you might meet while you are there, they might even give you a lift in their super fast convertible car!
It’s kinda like the grade school game we all remember. When someone whispers into another’s ear a simple phrase and the goal (eekkk…sorry) idea is to pass that information to the next soul throughout the line. When it ends up at the end, it’s nearly always not close to how it started. This thread takes me back. Smelling roses along a journey is a wonderful and important concept. However, setting goals and the like isn’t antithetical to such a concept. The journey in a goal oriented plan can be every bit as enticing and wonderful.
T
I actually give myself an annual review for 2007 and set my goal for 2008.
2007 Yearly Review – Is my success predictable?
By setting the goals, I can review my progress every few weeks. I also adjust my goals when it is needed.
Being a kind of make-it-up-as-I-go-along person, I often set goals without figuring out steps to go there. So, if you can call it a goal, my goal is to figure out the steps to get to where I want which is a) more book sales, b) more focussed, organized blogging, c) more magazine article sales and d) more users for my online community. (I have some personal want-tos as well.)
All of these can be achieved with better organization, and this is something I have been learning about for years now. Each time I try something and bits of it work and other bits don’t work, so I take the bits that work and run with them. It’s definitely a process.
2007 has had many “surprises” (for want of a better word) and has taught me that rigid plans don’t work for me. In fact, every time I get too hung up on doing X a certain way, Y comes along to shake me up.
I’m not much of a new year’s resolution person. I can have general goals, but I set them when I think of them.
But I do think that it’s easy to look over goals at the end of the year. It’s when I have to start thinking about taxes and such anyhow, so a great time to think on where things went right and wrong.
I generally have daily, weekly, monthly and annual goals. These change regularly, so I’m not locking myself into something that hasn’t been working. But it also gives me an idea as to where I’m going.
Nice article, and just at the right time. I was wandering to ‘repair’ my performance on my online business and blogging. This thought really help me what to consider in making goal for 2008.
For 2008, I wish my success will be proportional to my commitment. Sturdy sails and soaring winds add up to swift locomotion.
2008? Of course i wish a lot of money than 2007, changing blog template( 2 column to 3column ), improve my blogging skills and become more active, commenting on other’s blogs also forums..
I’ve had a goal for the past year – to build up enough income from Adwords on my sites so as to surpass the monthly interest on my savings. Well… I ended up drawing down my savings enough that I’ve met my goal! Be careful what you wish for
My goal this year 2008 is to be able to monetize my new blog website. I’m reading the articles of experienced bloggers. I’m having fun of writing stuffs.