What Works

Introduction

OUR CULTURE IS obsessed with goals—achievement, growth, change, improvement. For a long time, I shared that obsession. But about five years ago, I started to question whether the goals I set and the constant impulse to strive for more genuinely served me. Was I happier? Was I more fulfilled? Was I a better business owner, wife, mother, daughter, friend because of the goals I held? Those were pretty easy questions to answer: no, no, and no. Then, I started to ask more difficult questions. Why do I fixate on goals? What drives my constant need for achievement? How do the goals I pursue alienate me from others and even myself?

As I explored those questions, both through personal reflection and thorough research, I came to a startling hypothesis: Maybe goal-setting doesn't work. Maybe goal-setting is wrapped up in the same stories and systems that make it such a challenge to find satisfaction and fulfillment in modern life. Maybe I need a whole new approach.

This isn't another book about how to set goals and achieve them. My guess is that you've already read quite a few. You've bought the planners, used the apps, and found yourself an accountability buddy. If you're like any of the thousands of people I've heard from over the last decade, you're probably still wondering, “Okay, but what works? What really works to change habits? What really works to achieve goals? What really works to create plans that I can stick to or fit in all the responsibilities I have?”

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