Goals are not an imperative

Why has the backlash against personal efficiency, achievement culture, and the pursuit of success for success's sake gained such momentum and persisted? I think the answer is simple: the evangelists of this movement have taken good ideas and pushed them into the realm of the absurd. Instead of sensible planning, we get rigid KPIs and an endless chase. Instead of personal, subjective happiness and enjoyment, we're handed external measures of success. Instead of living, we're stuck in a sweatshop of performance.

Fanaticism and overzealousness aren't emotions you want to carry through life. Here's a recipe for staying enthusiastic while keeping a cool head — and avoiding the trap of 'hyper-efficiency':

Just because you once set a goal doesn't mean you have to achieve it at all costs. In that moment, you decided it was something you wanted and felt comfortable pursuing, but that doesn't obligate you — neither the past version of you, nor the future version of you. You make the rules for your game, and you can change them at any time. It doesn't matter if the goal is no longer relevant because circumstances have changed or because you have changed. Either way, you don't owe it to anyone — not even yourself.

Goals are what you want, what you plan, what you hope to achieve. But framing them as a must is completely inappropriate for what are essentially your own desires. To avoid trapping yourself, it's helpful to check in from time to time: am I slipping into a 'must'? If you catch yourself doing this, take a moment to listen to yourself and don't hesitate to reevaluate your goals.

If external support seems necessary, you may find tools in the book You're The State