Goals and Values

Goals and Values

Last Thursday I attended a talk on wicked problems at the Royal Academy of Engineering, and one thing that came up was the idea that we focus a lot on short-term goals, as opposed long-term values.

The Utility of Short-term Goals

This got me thinking, goals are great for short term thinking. When using acronyms such as SMART, WOOP and HARD, it is possible to reduce goals down into a discrete set of tasks. To complete the larger-order goal, you complete the tasks, sometimes one by one, sometimes simultaneously. In this sense, completing a larger-order goal is akin to piecing together a puzzle. This is a very reductionist, linear way of thinking, and is effective for well-defined problems. For example, developing an aircraft communications module or building a ship. Both have clearly defined markers for delivery of the product, and can be considered very advanced puzzles.

However, when I’ve tried to form longer-term goals for myself using the same frameworks (SMART, WOOP etc), often times my life situation has changed so much after just one year that 80% of the original goal is no longer relevant to me. Sometimes, it’s been a case of some new technology emerging, other times its having been exposed to a new opportunity that I wasn’t even aware of previously. It’s as though using linear, reductionist approaches to guide ourselves as human beings doens’t work as well as we thought?!

The Consistency of Long-term Values

Values, on the other hand, provide a moral ‘measuring stick’ that you can measure many things against, small or large, short or long-term. They also inform the direction of the goals. If your short-term goals are aligned with your long-term values, not only are you more likely to complete them, but you’ll look back with a sense of achievement, overall contributing to feeling satisfied with your life. Without a clear set of values, it is becomes easy to generate and pursue a set of goals that feel scattered and unrelated, and it is likely you will not identify with them in the medium to long-term.

If you are looking to invest time into creating a set of goals that you want to pursue, I encourage you first to reflect on what set of values you hold. You will notice that many of your goals will already align with your values, and generating new goals becomes much easier.