Achieving goals doesn’t guarantee happiness, but I can understand why you might think that it does.
I mean, that’s what we’re taught. Goals = Success! When we check all the right boxes and make the right moves, we’ll be happy. When we achieve our New Year’s Resolutions, we’ll be happy! When we finally have the perfect career, marriage, family and house, we’ll be happy. And when we’re wealthy and skinny and look like we’re starring in a damn perfume commercial, we’ll be happy!
But let me ask you a question.
Is everyone who achieves their goals happy?
No! Of course not!
Do you know anyone who’s unhappy in their “perfect” marriage or miserable in their dream job? Maybe overwhelmed by being a working parent, or feeling trapped and overextended to live in the dream house?
I do. I was her!
And I realized, I was doing things backwards.
We’ve been taught to work toward our goals, and that once we achieve them, we’ll have the life we always dreamed of. But the problem is that without having a clear VISION of the life we want to create FIRST, our goals won’t always lead us to the outcome we desire.
Just think about it.
A goal might be to get married, so you’ll be happy. But what if you marry the wrong person? What if you’re not ready?
Will you be happy?
A VISION might look like being in a happy, healthy relationship – and your goals might look like learning to fall love yourself and creating a life that lights you up before you even think about getting into a relationship.
Here’s another example.
A goal might be to start a business so you can have more time freedom.
But what if you’re not built to run a business?
What if your business requires you to work 60+ hours a week for the first year or two? What if you value security and predictability?
A VISION might look like doing work that allows you to have more time freedom, and the goal might be to find a new job or career that gives you more time freedom AND aligns with your values.
When we start with our VISION, we know we’re choosing the right goals and making the right moves to make that vision a reality.
When have you achieved a goal that you thought would bring you happiness, but didn’t? What did you learn?
Reply in the comments and let me know. I’d love to hear from you!
Here’s to designing YOUR vision on your terms,
Alexis
For more content like this:
Follow me on Instagram.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Looking for coaching support? Here’s how we can work together.
