The Economics of Goal Setting

We go through our lives constantly wanting this thing or that. It may be a cup of coffee or something to eat, losing weight, getting fitter, earning more money or starting a family. Apart from the basic survival goals, to breathe, to drink, to eat and to have shelter, the other progressive goals we have are always dependent upon where we are now.

That is to say there is always a hierarchy of dependency in our goals. For example, it’s no use having a goal of starting a family if you are not even in a relationship yet. Okay, you can have the goal but in reality it’s just a dream until you have met someone. After meeting someone you need to work on the relationship and ensure that your partner is 'the one'. It is also no use having a goal of starting your own internet business if you don’t even own a PC nor have Internet connectivity therefore your first goal would be to own a PC and know how to use it. So it goes that there must be a progression of goals in life and the sequencing and logical progression of your goal plan is vital to ensure that each goal is achievable.

The thing that drives goals to become reality above all else is desire. Desire is a curious thing, it can be a highly positive force or highly destructive depending on whether you control it or it controls you. Everything that we have ever done as human beings has been done out of desire. Every single dream or goal we have ever had is driven by desire. Hitler’s desire for a master race caused World Wars, the USA and the USSR’s desire to get to space first resulted in the Space Race.

The West’s desire for control over oil supplies has directly resulted in the current ongoing issues in the Middle East and the resultant terrorism suffered in the West. Desire in economic terms can be called demand. Economists actually measure desire when they measure demand. Therefore you can see directly that even the worlds stock markets, the very basis of living in the developed world, is driven by desire and its opposite; fear!

Economics is in fact a study of human behaviour with respect to the achievement of goals. When money is in plentiful supply, we spend and this stimulates the economy. When it is in short supply we tend to save it for a rainy day, damaging the economy. These two things tell us a lot about desire and fear. When we have money, it stimulates our minds to want things, so we spend on those things. When we have no money we fear for our future and keep what we have.

Planning your own life goals is the same. When you have lots of dreams and goals, they are in plentiful supply and you expend a lot of energy and enthusiasm on them. This wastes energy and effort and ultimately puts some of your goals at risk of failure or delay. When you have fewer goals, they are in short supply and you tend to be more efficient and effective in using your available resources to achieve your goal. What we are really talking about here is focus. Your focus on fewer goals will deliver more energy, creativity and resources and therefore more success.

So it is important to decide which goals deserve your focus and which do not. It is clear that some analysis is required to answer this question. The best way however to decide which goals are worthy of your time, money and effort is to make a list of your goals and then beside each goal make two columns. In the left column; write down the benefits to you of achieving your goal. Benefits should always be personal to you and elicit some kind of good feeling, for example, ‘I will feel happy and content because I am my own boss’ or ‘I will feel I have achieved a higher status in life because I have a bigger house’. At the end of each benefit write down a score out of ten to indicate the strength of feeling in that benefit. This measures its importance. In the right column; write down the consequences of not achieving the goal. Again making it personal and focusing on how you will feel if this happens. For example ‘I will feel like a failure if I don’t pass my exams’ or ‘I will feel I have not done as well as my friends’. The personal nature of these statements is important as they are the things that fuel your desire to succeed. At the end of the each consequence listed, write down the strength of feeling again.

Once you have completed your list of benefits and consequences for each goal you should now add up the strength of feeling for each benefit and consequence list. This will give an overall measurement of your desire to achieve the goal in question. You should then be able to prioritise your goals more effectively. The higher the strength of feeling for the goal, the higher its priority should be. You should only work on high priority goals at any time so your energy is channelled effectively and you maximise the chances of achieving your goal. Be aware however that priority can change over time so review your goals regularly to ensure that you feel the same way about them and their relative priorities remain the same.