#19: No Goals

Year after year, we set goals. Year after year, we’re chased by them. The cycle is endless: plan, strive, achieve—or fail—and then repeat. But when was the last time we questioned the nature of those goals?

Think about it: how many of the goals we set are truly within our control? Promotions, winning a contest, earning more money, getting a certain recognition—all of these depend not just on our effort but on external circumstances and the decisions of others. And so, we unknowingly tie our success—and often, our self-worth—to forces beyond us.

Epictetus once said, "If you only run races where winning is up to you, you always win." But most of us are running races we can’t win because the finish line keeps moving, or worse, is controlled by someone else.

The fixation on external results comes with a hidden cost. It consumes our time, energy, and focus—resources that could be better spent doing the very things that generate results in the first place. I am sure you can recognize the cases like the following:

• A program manager chasing the promotion turns into the ultimate people pleaser and losing the grasp on their job
• A trainer obsessed with audience reactions gets distracted, stumbling through their message.
• A consultant caring too much about sales telling the clients what they want to hear, not what is vital for their success

The more we chase outcomes we can’t control, the more we risk losing sight of what actually matters: the process. The work. The practice.

So, I’ve made a choice: no more chasing goals that depend on others. Instead, I focus on doing the right things, every single day. I aim to improve my skills, deliver my best work, and stay true to my principles. The results? They’ll come—or they won’t—but they won’t define me.

This shift has been liberating. It’s not about lowering standards or giving up ambition; it’s about rechanneling that ambition toward what I can control. When you focus on the process, something incredible happens: you enjoy the journey, and the outcomes often take care of themselves.

So, what about you? Are your goals empowering you, or are they holding you hostage? What would happen if you let go of the uncontrollable and focused on doing the right things every day?

Inspired by This Is Why I Don’t Have Goals (And What To Do Instead) by Ryan Holiday.