Setting Goals, OKRs, and Resolutions: The First Step in Completing Them

Some of us do not want to participate in such a pedestrian idea as setting goals, and resolutions, and are instead content to live life as it comes. Some strive throughout the year to meet or exceed goals or cascaded Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) that were set for them, by work or other organizations, overcoming all obstacles as if on a singular focused mission. And others, me included, fall somewhere in the middle, and recognize that setting and attaining goals that are meaningful to us can be a way of designing the life that we want and achieving work-related goals and OKRs along the way. 

Goal Setting Theories

If you find yourself wanting, or needing, to create goals, resolutions, or OKRs, either for your own development and growth, or for some work-related program, start by understanding why and how goal setting theory works. As Western thought developed, it is believed that the idea of goals and goal setting originated with Aristotle, who realized that when people create goals and have plans and act in accordance with those goals (assuming those goals are achievable), then they can actually attain those goals. This simple idea of goal setting has of course been adapted and expanded since early times. The best-known modern theorists of goal setting are Psychologists and Business Professors Edwin Locke and Gary Latham. Locke and Latham determined and have proved, since at least the 1960s, that attaining difficult specific goals creates higher performance than having easy, abstract, or no goals. Goal setting has also been shown, from hundreds of studies, to be an effective factor in increasing and maintaining motivation and well-being.  If all it takes to feel better and be more successful is setting and attaining a handful of goals, then of course, we would all be in!  But it’s not quite that simple, and this is important: research has shown that goals set for us by others, or by us for another’s purposes, so-called heteronomous goals, will not enhance our well-being. We don’t want to strive for goals that make us feel more anxious, stressed and depressed than usual, even after we achieve them! 

How then, do we make sure that our goals are self-endorsed, to borrow an idea from Self-determination theory, meaning they are related to our personal needs and aligned with our personal life purpose, even when we have to set and achieve goals that are meant to serve a purpose that is seemingly not our own? To do this, we need to consider how all our potential goals, even those that might not seem self-endorsed, can be destinations on our life map. 

Goal Mapping 

Remember maps? For those of you too young to really remember, let me explain. Maps were large (very large) pieces of paper that were folded to a small size for storage, but when opened, say, by the passenger in a car, they would basically fill the entire area in front of the passenger, part of their door, and perhaps extend onto the driver’s side. Maps were colorful, detailed, and cumbersome, but you never wanted to be somewhere unfamiliar without a map stashed in your glove compartment. I remember once driving across the Southern California desert in a rented convertible, back before cell phones and navigation systems (GPS was not publicly available until the late 1980s/early 1990s), and my travel companion had the map open trying to figure our way to some conference, and a gust of wind ripped the map right out of his hands and into a Joshua tree. Back then, without that map, we were basically lost. These days, while we can easily find a map on our phones, we often don’t get to see the entire route in one view, like you could on a paper map, without a click of the “Overview” tab. Instead, we are just provided with step by step directions to progress along the system’s suggested itinerary. With goal setting, we need to start with our Overview tab. We need to know where we are going. Before starting your goal setting, spend some time reflecting on this question: where are you going? Goals that are aligned with your values, passions, and purpose - your destination - will not only be more easily attainable, but will provide a happier more meaningful life. Find a way to relate the concrete goals that you are considering to the destination on your map. For example, you may have received a cascaded OKR to increase your billability by 10% by the end of Q2. Certainly, that is not a goal of your deep burning purpose in life. But is there a way to relate it? A billability goal is clearly related to increasing revenue or profit for a company, which, in the ideal sense, increases your bonus and raises your salary. Is making money one of your personal goals? How about taking care of your family? Why a billability goal might not be immediately self-endorsable, you can see the connection from increased billability to higher salary to college funds for your children. If you can make these connections, the destination on your map will align more with your inner values. This is a great place to start. 

Start by getting clear on your destination. In The MOST Approach™, goal setting begins with the idea of creating a map for your life, which we call your Outlook Identity, or who you want to be or become. With a clear understanding of the Future You, you can more easily develop and align your goals to be in direct relation to that Outlook. And we know from the research, that when this alignment happens, you are more likely to attain goals that contribute not only to results desired from meeting the goal itself, but also to your health, vitality, and energy, with a bonus of alleviating anxiety and stress. Setting the right goals for you, at this moment, is the first step toward completing them!