Goals vs. greed — where should you focus your energy?

It's important to differentiate between these two concepts.

Goals are an idea of the future, an objective that you hope to achieve, especially when much time and effort will be needed.

Greed is a selfish or excessive desire for more than what you need or deserve, especially in matters of money, wealth, food, or other possessions.

Do you see the difference?

More than having patience (which is also important), I think it's critical for you to take a closer look at the goals you set for yourself. Specifically, you need to understand where they come from and why they're important to you, rather than let greed drive your pursuit of those goals.

Here are a few things that can be helpful.

  • Choose specific and realistic goals. Don't make your goals vague or abstract. Non-specific goals can be anything of the following: I want to get rich, I want to be a CEO of a company, I want to be much skinnier, I want to have money to travel the world. Instead, make your goal as specific as possible. For example, if you're looking for your next job, write down that you want to get a job offer for a [ job title you want] that pays an annual salary of [amount you believe is fair given your skills and experience] so you can develop [current skills and new skills you're working on].
  • Find goals that are the right fit for you. Often when we are busy thinking about goals, we get distracted by things other people tell us or show us. Usually this comes in the shape of an Instagram post showing off a lavish lifestyle or well-intended advice from a parent telling you who they want you to become (a doctor, an engineer, the next in line to run the family business). It's important to separate a goal that you truly want for yourself from a goal that was set by someone else. Ask yourself, is this someone else's goal? If it's mine, how deeply do I care about reaching it and is this for all the right reasons?
  • Make sure the goals fit into the big picture of your life. I believe that the big picture of our life lurks somewhere in our thoughts, even if we don't think about it or aren't aware of it all the time. But it's there. The big picture is the ideal version, the ultimate version, the scenario you dream about. To move it from a dream to a possible scenario, ask yourself what you want in your future: Where do I want to be 5, 10, even 20 years from now? Who do I want to become — an entrepreneur, scientist, innovator, chef, writer? Get as specific as possible about the kind of lifestyle and career you want.
  • Take one step every day in the right direction. It's easy to set ourselves up for disappointment if we want one thing (I want to get rich quick), then let it go and do absolutely nothing to make it happen. See? Nothing is happening. There's no money coming my way. I might as well give up on it. Who's motivated to proceed if they don't believe it even matters in the long run? To make a connection between what you are doing today with your future self, start each day with this question: What is the ONE THING I am committed to completing today? Asking it forces you to prioritize, helps your brain focus better, and streamlines the work you need to do so you don't feel overwhelmed and can focus better on what's most important to you.
  • Hold yourself accountable. Instead of setting yourself up for disappointment, be responsible for your actions and what you choose to do each day to get closer to a goal. A good way to improve self-responsibility is by building commitments to yourself. How? Define a very specific goal you want to achieve in a certain time frame — it can be days, weeks, or months. The point of having a time frame is that you create a milestone you want to reach, so you know you're staying on track. For example, I am committed to find a side hustle in the next 30 days that will create an additional source of income to boost my earnings. Or, I am committed to waking up at 6 a.m. for the next two weeks so I have time to finish my most challenging work early in the day when it's really quiet and I don't have anything to distract me.

📖✏ I created a workbook based on these steps called 5 Ideas for Setting Realistic Goals. It's a 35-page printable book with step-by-step instructions, tips, templates, and a list of recommended reading materials. You can learn more about it here.

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