Why Goal Setting Often Doesn't Work

I work with many diligent traders who review their performance regularly, see what they need to improve, set goals for the next time period, and then move forward.  It's a great process, but it misses one thing: vision.  Rarely do goals in and of themselves truly motivate us to go beyond what we believe to be possible.  That takes a vision that captures our imagination, challenges us, and becomes an overarching priority.  Goals can help us implement our vision, but goals without a clear animating vision are little more than to-do lists.

In my latest Forbes article, I outline three strategies for getting to that all-important next level of performance.  It turns out that the environment we create for our performance, the ways in which we pursue performance, and who we work with on our performance make all the difference in the world. But notice in the article that two of the performers I cite choose truly audacious goals driven by a vision.  They seek something big.  They seek something meaningful.

Without vision, we are blind.  Without a vision of extraordinary achievement, we will always function within ordinary expectations.  The three strategies I outline are effective precisely because they align our goal-seeking with our vision.

Further Reading:

Three Tested Strategies for Exceeding Expectations

TraderFeed Home Page and Index

.