Vision Board Check-In: Am I Winning at Life, or Just Playing the Game?

As I mark my notes and look at the calendar, 1 month out of 2025 is already over. I am staring at my vision board. Trying to decide if I should jump with excitement or cry in abandonment. There is no in-between!

I try to mark what I was able to accomplish, what I couldn't work on, tasks that progressed but not completed, and things that haven't even begun.

This reflection creates both a sense of achievement as well as a fear of the uncertainty that lies ahead. The overwhelming sense of opening a Pandora's box of all possibilities and probabilities that can go wrong. The doubt within; whether all of items on my vision board will be achieved or not?

Adding fuel to fire is an eerie sense of helpless realisation that everything in life is not in our control.

Taking this step back to review helps ease the mind. To be okay with the consequences of your actions and choices. Here I realise that there are things that are in my control versus things that are not in my control. Those that are more specific and defined are in better position versus others which are vague.

When I take a step back, I realise that this is the first time I am doing this so objectively. There is no external pressure, no comparison, no proving value, no judgement. It is my vision board, my review and my status report.

I feel blessed. Free.

In my previous corporate experience, we did everything. SMART goals, OKRs, quarterly review meetings, monthly check-in, weekly updates. None of which was in the least was motivating. The problem is not with me or with any one company or any one process.

Most goal setting activity trickles down from Management to departments, from departments to managers and from managers to individuals. This process creates cohesion but makes it cookie cutter at the same time.

There are 3 main problems that I perceive in corporate goal setting process:

1) External motivation and validation

The purpose of goal-setting and achievement within a corporate environment is not about individual growth or collective growth, it becomes about competition and comparison. It becomes about external check-points, external matrix and external review. If I personally fail, I can take some time to deal with it. Heal maybe. But in a corporate setting one doesn't get that time or space. It automatically becomes how others perceive my achievements or lack thereof.

Increment, incentive, rewards and recognitions are all external motivation to complete a task. It doesn't bring joy of fulfilment or achievement. The feeling on achievement on completing a task is intrinsic motivation and usually more long lasting.

Burnout is not caused by excessive deadlines or poor management, it usually the impact of prolonged external motivations that kill intrinsic joy over time.

2) Siloed KPIs

Key performance Indicators are variables or values against which employee's outputs are measured. They are parameters of performance. A benchmark of value. Usual KPIs include sales targets or NPS scores or ROI. Metrics that employees and departments focus on. This extreme laser like focus can turn out to be counter productive. For example, if the KPI is number of code releases each week then everyone is focused on number of release while cutting corners on quality. If the focus is on new clients, then existing clients take a back seat. If the goal is total revenue, then its forgoing quality of clientele.

Each individual KPI over-prioritises one parameter against all others. Thereby creating a skewed measurement and definition of success. Success at any cost. This definition creates a culture of short-term winning at the cost of long term sustenance. These siloed KPI's also at times are at loggerheads between departments. For eg. Finance is tasked with controlling costs while HR is tasked with increasing headcount. This often create unnecessary squabble for attention/priority of one parameter versus another.

3) Growth is a uni-directional trajectory

Most corporate goal-setting begins with more. More revenue, More subscribers, More production, More profit. It has no space for climbing down, for breathing or for slowing down. This is really not really a scalable model. Yet, the whole world seems to run on this western capitalist model.

Sustainability is just another buzzword for marketing. Because we don't focus on sustainability at work. Work-life balance is another buzzword, but it can't mean sustainability. Socially, if you say 'you are sustaining' you might be looked down upon. It means you are not growing nor getting better. Being in an 'as is' state either financially or hierarchically is somehow considered a failure. It is never our goal to just sustain.

Is there an alternative?

In an idealistic scenario, goal setting should be two-fold. One, for the individual to increase his/her capability. Improve Ability. Increase proficiency or skill. Do something faster, better, smarter. Two, is his/her share of responsibility in something bigger (than individual performance). A higher purpose or community goal that aligns all aspects of his/her surroundings.

This doesn't mean you will impact or influence the whole community or country. It simply means you are self-aware and attuned to your role in the bigger picture. It helps you find balance as well as stability to be kind. To understand that your effort and the result you see may not coincide within a direct sphere of influence or timeline.

Any goal that highlights one aspect while ignoring others is a skewed measurement of success. Goals should not come at the expense of Family/Health/Relationship/Environment etc.

If it costs you your peace, it is too expensive. - Paulo Coelho