Where to find this idea:
Living Without a Goal by James Ogilvy
We’ve been told that successful people have goals, not dreams. We’ve been told to set S.M.A.R.T. goals. And we’ve definitely been told that we’ll never get anywhere unless we know where we’re going.
But let’s try a little imagination exercise.
Can you picture your life without goals? Big or small, smart or stupid. Just doing your thing (at work or in any other area of your life), without the need to determine what you want to achieve. Just enjoying the process without thinking about the result.
We know that goals bring a sense of direction, control and predictability, and that life without them might feel like we’re running to nowhere. But not having goals can be liberating because we don’t have goals to limit us or put pressure on us. Life without goals doesn’t mean we’re stuck in a standstill. We still do and achieve things. The difference is that we can go anywhere and achieve anything.
Let’s take the following statement quite literally — if you want to get somewhere, you need to know where you’re going. Now, go outside and walk in a random direction for 30 minutes. You’ll get somewhere! Right? It’s just that you’ll end up in an unexpected place. Well, this would be your life without goals. You simply do something you’re excited about and see where the journey takes you.
Also, the sense of control that goals bring can be deceiving. You have goals and you know where you’re going, but even when you know this, you often don’t end up getting there. No matter how many yearly, monthly and weekly goals you set, you don’t achieve all of them. Unpredictable things happen, you get distracted or you feel forced to achieve your goals. It’s never that simple and straightforward.
Life without goals might not be for everyone, but some people truly enjoy this way of living. They’re so into what they’re doing that they don’t need goals to guide them — they’d do it all anyway. And they know they’ll end up in places that are surprising and beautiful.