Awesome goals vs. "crappy goals"

[elucidate]

I just read the recent newsletter from you Steve, and noticed that you gave examples of what your definition of "crappy goals"are.

I am wondering what your definition of "Äwesome goals" are?

Can you please give some examples, as you didn't in the newsletter.

I'm curious.

[supertom]

one thing is clear cut binary goals, which you can give a yes no answer to the question have I achieved it. Goals that motivates/inspires you when you just think about it.

Its only natural awesome people set awesome goals

[ssandra]

I think it is different for different people.

For some people finishing school in 3 semesters might be an awesome goal (Steve). For others, it would be a crappy goal (me ).

[danas]

I think he means goals which are measurable

* go raw vegan and improve my health
* make a film about x
* meet like minded people and make a new friend

These are goals which I set myself and achieved with much enthusiasm.
These are goals which the day after setting them I was so eager to make steps to make them happen

[shawnmihalik]

Originally Posted by danas

I think he means goals which are measurable

I agree. For example, setting a goal to make more money would be crappy, but setting a goal to make $50,000 a year is far better. It all goes back to how to place your order with the Universe. Be specific.

For a long time I wanted to lose weight, but when I worded my goal that way, I never accomplished it. However, when I set a goal to get myself from 200 pounds to 155 pounds, I was far more successful. I also find it helpful to set smaller measurable goals that accumulate to the the large goal. My first goal was to get my weight to 180, then 170, then 165, 160, etc.

[Curtis2011]

I like the SMART idea:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound

[elucidate]

So , what is boring for one person (steve), may be awesome for someone else...such is the beauty of different peoples perceptions on what is awesome and what is boring

For a person who has been clinically depressed for 20 years...the goal of being happier is an awesome thing to attain.

For the person who has been living in a shoebox for the last 20 years because of financial hardship...moving to a new location and a better apartment is an awesome feat.

etc.

Awesome is in the eye of the beholder.

[danas]

Originally Posted by elucidate

So , what is boring for one person (steve), may be awesome for someone else...such is the beauty of different peoples perceptions on what is awesome and what is boring
For a person who has been clinically depressed for 20 years...the goal of being happier is an awesome thing to attain.
For the person who has been living in a shoebox for the last 20 years because of financial hardship...moving to a new location and a better apartment is an awesome feat.
etc. Awesome is in the eye of the beholder.

not quite
every single person on earth wants to be happier
but that's not really measurable
that's too vague
can you think of something that totally thrills you?
That would a total WOW for your life? That could take you to a whole
new level?
For me for instance a solo museum show would do the trick. It
absolutely thrills me!
In janurary I set a goal to get a positive review of my work in the NYTimes. I was totally obsessed with that goal, and finally I got it 6 months later.. I was very specific and now I have the paper, so it's measurable.
Also making money as a goal isn't thrilling as a goal. A better goal would be say to make x amount until this date so u can cover your college education
or improve your living situation. But even better would be to focus on what you love doing and investing in that as a way to make money

[supertom]

Originally Posted by elucidate

So , what is boring for one person (steve), may be awesome for someone else...such is the beauty of different peoples perceptions on what is awesome and what is boring

For a person who has been clinically depressed for 20 years...the goal of being happier is an awesome thing to attain.

For the person who has been living in a shoebox for the last 20 years because of financial hardship...moving to a new location and a better apartment is an awesome feat.

etc.

Awesome is in the eye of the beholder.

What really clicked for me was the part where he talks about when you aren't working on it it bugs you, you cant stop thinking about it becomes an obsession.

being happier is too vague, they will need to define what being happier i what level of happiness do they want, setting guidelines like laughing hard at least 3 times a day will help clarify what they level is.

A awesome goal for someone who is clinically depressed would be to get out of depression by defining the non-depressed person they want to become, think about being that all that behaving like that changing their thoughts moods attitudes. But i doubt they would be able to set a goal like that.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by shawnmihalik

I agree. For example, setting a goal to make more money would be crappy, but setting a goal to make $50,000 a year is far better. It all goes back to how to place your order with the Universe. Be specific.

For a long time I wanted to lose weight, but when I worded my goal that way, I never accomplished it. However, when I set a goal to get myself from 200 pounds to 155 pounds, I was far more successful. I also find it helpful to set smaller measurable goals that accumulate to the the large goal. My first goal was to get my weight to 180, then 170, then 165, 160, etc.

Ah, ok. I can see what you mean by making it more of a clear, measurable thing as a goal to have. So he is saying that the wording of the goals themselves is what makes the difference between an awesome goal and a crappy goal...not the goals themselves? Is this right?

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by ssandra

I think it is different for different people.

For some people finishing school in 3 semesters might be an awesome goal (Steve). For others, it would be a crappy goal (me ).

I think you get what I was talking about Ssandra

[supertom]

Originally Posted by ssandra

I think it is different for different people.

For some people finishing school in 3 semesters might be an awesome goal (Steve). For others, it would be a crappy goal (me ).

can you give us a version of your awesome goal?

unless its private, i know i like to keep my goals private.

[Angela]

S Specific, Simple
M Measurable, Meaningful
A All Areas Of Your Life, As If They're Happening Now
R Realistic, Responsible
T Timed, Towards-motivated
E Ecological (Are you willing to accept the consequences of achieving this goal? Does it support well-being for you, your family, your community, the planet?
R Rewarding (What will be the actual reward or heart's desire?)

And I think awesome goals are ones in which all of your highest values in the context of the particular area of life are expressed. Those are the goals that light people up and totally inspire them.

[elucidate]

It's interesting to see peoples replies.

I was hoping Steve would chime in with an example of what an "äwesome" goal is...in his mind.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

I like the SMART idea:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound

R is supposed to stand for Realistic, not Relevant.

[brendannz]

Elucidate, I think it's a question only you can answer, it's your life.

Good luck too

[escapeplan]

It's easy to identify awesome goals. It is "impossible" to shut off from them. The idea of achieving them is exciting- really exciting. It can (will) become an obsession.

My goal (in this case a business related goal) was so big I would describe it in itself as a passion or purpose to my daily existence. You don't get this drive from simply wanting more money- I don't think about money that much anymore as my work really is more exciting. My mistake for many years was setting goals that I truthfully was not that interested in- and I used to do that in all areas of my life. I think it's easier in hindsight to tell the awesome goals from the crappy ones- but in truth even the crappy ones are easily identified at the time. You have to force yourself to work on them, you procrastinate, find excuses, re-prioritise other tasks etc. When you are obsessed with a goal this is not so easy- I certainly found my goal had to be ridiculously big before I was inspired enough to take action to change my professional career into self-employment.

[munish]

Some goals which were awesome in the past can become crappy now.

I made a web site worked hard on it , but my interest got shifted over the period of time.So i sold it .

As Steve rightly said ,

Crappy goals are-

Improve my website.

Be happier.

Get a girlfriend.

Quit my job and do work I love.

[munish]

Originally Posted by elucidate

It's interesting to see peoples replies.

I was hoping Steve would chime in with an example of what an "äwesome" goal is...in his mind.

I do not think Steve would Chime in . As he has already written more than 600 articles answering this question many times.

Whatever inspires you , add value to your life is an awesome goal.

For example Steve's goal of crossing 30 million visitors a month is an awesome goal.

[munish]

Originally Posted by shawnmihalik

but setting a goal to make $50,000 a year is far better.

.

I think you have not read the newspaper.

He said,

You don't need to focus on the money, the new car, and the girlfriend.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by brendannz

Elucidate, I think it's a question only you can answer, it's your life.

Good luck too

Yes...I am aware of what I consider to be my awesome goals Brendannz.

I think you'll find that I wrote in my original post asking for STEVE'S definition of what an "awesome" goal is...out of pure curiosity.

I thought I wrote it pretty clearly.

Maybe Munish is right though. As I do not really venture into Steve's threads very often it's possible I missed reading about his definition of what awesome goals are, the last 600 times.

My point is that what is awesome for one person may not be so for another, and what is crappy for one person may be what is awesome for someone else.

For someone with an acquired brain injury, for example, the goal of tying his/her shoelaces one day independant of any help, may be what keeps them going and becomes an obsession...whereas, to most of us that would sound like a crappy goal.

Never mind though.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by munish

I think you have not read the newspaper.

He said,

You don't need to focus on the money, the new car, and the girlfriend.

I thought this as well. Isn't making $50,000 a year "making more money"

[supertom]

@elucidate You feel steve is judging other peoples goals too harshly perhaps comparing them to his goals??

[SlicK]

Can you please give some examples, as you didn't in the newsletter.

Can I?
There are many ways you can set your mind on a great goal. You can set a crappy goal and keep asking yourself WHY. Why do you want that? Why do you want the other thing? What will it do for you? What kind of other opportunities will it attract. Or you can start with a boring goal and keep building around it in your imagination. Keep adding details. Or it can just hit you one day. It is really not important how you do it. It is important to know yourself and "listen" to yourself.

Crap goal: "I want to make $5000 / month"
Awesome goal: "I want to make $5000 / month, money which I will use to pay the rent of an awesome apartment I wanted for a long time. I will eat the best food in the best places. Every weekend I will visit some new place that inspires me." And the list can go on. And of course, with specific details.
Crap goal: "I will get an awesome girlfriend!"
Awesome goal: "I want an honest girl that swears a lot just like me and she wears baggy clothes and listens to hip-hop and..." other specific details.

You know you have an awesome goal when it makes you super happy and you get . When it just tickles you inside thinking about it then you have an awesome goal. Then comes the tricky part... You have to trust yourself that you CAN do it. If you let doubt dominate you, you'll just feel you're not worthy and you will abandon it.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by supertom

@elucidate You feel steve is judging other peoples goals too harshly perhaps comparing them to his goals??

Bingo

I understand that setting goals that make us wake up excited and obsessed to fulfill them is what Steve considers to be awesome...and I would agree, if something can make you feel alive then it is awesome.

I also think that in other peoples realities...something like getting a better job can be what is keeping them going and make them stretch themselves. Or, as in the examples I gave, can be something so simple, and yet can provide a person with an enriched life experience once it is attained...which is awesome in my oppinion.

Judging one thing as awesome and another as crappy is only Steve's OPPINION...it is for the person themselves to decide what is awesome or crappy as a goal...not him!

It isn't about pleasing him, though I can see steve may see himself as wanting to "raise the bar" so that people set themselves higher goals...it's still up to the individual to decide what is awesome for them or not, right.

That's the point I was trying to make...which went over a few heads I think.

[elucidate]

Yes...and the point is YOU get to decide what is a crappy goal and what is an awesome goal...NOT Steve

According to the goals you mentioned, which I know are just hypotheticals, Steve would say they are "crappy".

Do YOU consider these to be crappy? Cos that's all that matters...not what anyone else thinks.

See what I'm saying here.

Originally Posted by SlicK

Can I?
There are many ways you can set your mind on a great goal. You can set a crappy goal and keep asking yourself WHY. Why do you want that? Why do you want the other thing? What will it do for you? What kind of other opportunities will it attract. Or you can start with a boring goal and keep building around it in your imagination. Keep adding details. Or it can just hit you one day. It is really not important how you do it. It is important to know yourself and "listen" to yourself.

Crap goal: "I want to make $5000 / month"
Awesome goal: "I want to make $5000 / month, money which I will use to pay the rent of an awesome apartment I wanted for a long time. I will eat the best food in the best places. Every weekend I will visit some new place that inspires me." And the list can go on. And of course, with specific details.
Crap goal: "I will get an awesome girlfriend!"
Awesome goal: "I want an honest girl that swears a lot just like me and she wears baggy clothes and listens to hip-hop and..." other specific details.

You know you have an awesome goal when it makes you super happy and you get . When it just tickles you inside thinking about it then you have an awesome goal. Then comes the tricky part... You have to trust yourself that you CAN do it. If you let doubt dominate you, you'll just feel you're not worthy and you will abandon it.

[Chris_1977]

Originally Posted by supertom

@elucidate You feel steve is judging other peoples goals too harshly perhaps comparing them to his goals??

Actually, Steve is judging goals harshly that fail to strongly inspire people. He says that in many cases goals like earning more money or getting a relationship are bad goals. Not because they are not very specific but because it is the kind of goal that many people have but that, in most cases, do not very strongly inspire them. They could take or leave those goals.

I feel this thread is being derailed by people who have not actually read the newsletter. Goals not being SMART is not at all what Steve was writing about. Actually, some years ago Steve railed against "SMART" goals. He even made op alternative meanings for the letters of "SMART". Something like Stupid, Mediocre, Anal-retentive, Retarded and Tedious. Well, I am making the words up know because I do not remember them, but the conclusion that Steve was not terribly fond of "SMART" goals at that time was easy to draw......

[James81]

Originally Posted by elucidate

That's the point I was trying to make...which went over a few heads I think.

Heh, well, I didn't get that at all from your first post.

I thought you were really asking a question.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by James81

Heh, well, I didn't get that at all from your first post.

I thought you were really asking a question.

Well I was being subtle in my attempts to get steve himself to describe what HIS idea of an "awesome goal" is, as he didn't give examples...only what he considers crappy goals to be.

I was curious as to what his examples would be, but my point was as I mentioned.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by Chris_1977

Actually, Steve is judging goals harshly that fail to strongly inspire people. He says that in many cases goals like earning more money or getting a relationship are bad goals. Not because they are not very specific but because it is the kind of goal that many people have but that, in most cases, do not very strongly inspire them. They could take or leave those goals.

I feel this thread is being derailed by people who have not actually read the newsletter. Goals not being SMART is not at all what Steve was writing about. Actually, some years ago Steve railed against "SMART" goals. He even made op alternative meanings for the letters of "SMART". Something like Stupid, Mediocre, Anal-retentive, Retarded and Tedious. Well, I am making the words up know because I do not remember them, but the conclusion that Steve was not terribly fond of "SMART" goals at that time was easy to draw......

Hmmm...well this seems to make more sense to me, the way you put it. Maybe I just didn't get it in the newsletter?

Yeah, a goal that makes a person really happy to think about it is obviously gonna make them pursue it more than a goal that is just something they are half-hearted about or need more than want.

I just found the examples given were generalized as being boring for everyone, because HE saw them that way.

To someone who has been homeless...finding a new home would be an awesome goal, and one that would make them very happy.