As 2014 winds down, now is the time that we start to make our plans, goals and resolutions for the year ahead. This month’s series of TED Talks looks at setting your goals, no matter how big or small, and making sure you actually achieve them.
Derek Sivers: Keep your goals to yourself
Once you’ve made up your mind and set a goal you’re sure will change your life, our first instinct is to tell those around us. In this insightful TED Talk, Derek Sivers, leading entrepreneur in the music business, says it’s often better to keep your goals to yourself. History has shown us that people who talk about their ambitions and resolutions are often less likely to achieve them. Research dating all the way back to the 1920s shows that keeping aspirations a secret is your best chance at actually following through with them.
Reggie Rivers: If you want to achieve your goals, don’t focus on them
“We all talk about setting goals, but we don’t talk that much about how to actually achieve goals,” says former Denver Broncos running back Reggie Rivers. In this TED Talk, he speaks about how focusing on your goals is the one sure way not to achieve them. Spending time concentrating on what is in your control rather than goals, which are outside of your control, puts the power of action in your hands and is the best approach to realising your aspirations.
Mel Robbins: Setting your goals high
In this motivational talk, Mel Robbins speaks on setting your goals high, regardless of any embarrassment you may feel. She tells the audience about the importance of setting goals for what you really want out of life, rather than just what you think is achievable. By keeping the bigger picture in mind, it is easier for us to accomplish the smaller targets that make it up. Recognise what you really want, admit you want it and do it, says Robbins.
Jason Fox: Goal setting is broken
The way people are setting goals is changing in the modern world. In this TED Talk, Jason Fox, Australian innovation management consultant and author, likens goal setting in business to the engagement needed for playing video games. He speaks on learning from challenges and failures and how it’s only through these that we can learn to achieve our goals and revel in the rewards. Keeping focus on what you have already achieved, rather than what still needs to be done, creates a bias towards action and keeps people engaged in a project for longer.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s post on goal setting. Please share your thoughts on creating goals in the comments below.