Own Your Goals

Own Your Goals

I was listening to an interview with Essentialism author, Greg McKeon. He shared an interesting story of how he was in a fancy dress shop looking for a Halloween costume recently. He tried on a Star Wars Storm Trooper outfit and when he was looking in the mirror he remembered a significant childhood memory of him and his older brother as kids. His brother told him ‘You know you have really made it when you can buy your own Storm Trooper outfit (he was an avid Star Wars fan). Greg realised that the only reason he had this outfit on was because of the subconscious meaning behind it. But more interestingly, he recognised he didn’t want this outfit. It meant nothing to him, the only reason he had it on was because of his brother.He went on to ask the question to his listeners - what is your storm trooper equivalent? In other words, are there goals in your life that you are pursuing for someone else and not for you? Or are you chasing an old goal that perhaps once excited you but now doesn’t resonate as much. As our life stages change, so do our values and this makes a huge influence on our priorities. There is a phenomena psychologist’s call “sunk-cost bias.” It’s our tendency to continue investing in a losing proposition because of what it’s already cost us. Needless to say, we can all fall prey to sunk-cost bias because we’re all innately loss averse and, let’s be honest, who wants to take a loss or admit they wasted money, energy or years of their life that could have been better spent?Biting the bullet and acknowledging that our choice to invest in something (or someone) that is no longer serving us is difficult; sometimes agonizingly so. It’s why people stay in careers they loathe and relationships that leave them lonely. It’s why ‘smart’ people stick with blindingly obvious bad investments for far too long, clinging on with blind optimism.Just because you have invested time and energy into a goal that no longer serves you takes tremendous courage to recognise it now drains you. So again, ask yourself ‘Is it a Storm Trooper?’ and if so, give yourself permission to walk away and focus on the goals and projects that energise you and keep the momentum for you to continue on the path to the best version of yourself.Here’s to owning your goals,Warm wishesLori