Читать книгу Inflection Points - Matt Spielman - Страница 17

The sad truth about traditional goal-setting approaches is that they just don't work. Most people don't get results. And even if they do, the results aren't meaningful because they didn't really think about why they wanted them in the first place. In truth, the system of traditional goal-setting can set us up to fail easily.

No one wants to admit this fact because there is such a strong social commitment in the current “self-improvement” system. We are told that goals are good, and that we should make them—even if we do not know why, or how. People have sunk a ton of time and intellectual/emotional labor into the goal-chasing process. There is now quite an industrial complex surrounding goals and discipline, and many individuals profit from the frustration of this process. Think of all the teachers, therapists, authors, guidance counselors, coaches, and speakers who want to talk to you about your goals.

The Game Plan System, in contrast, adds layers of intentionality, emotion, accountability, and principle to our planning practice. This allows us to make decisions and take actions with conviction, because we know that they are working in service of something of great importance to us. If we don't know what we're working on and what we're working toward, it's really hard to figure out what to do on a day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month basis. I get fired up about this because goal-setting and other fallacies of conventional coaching just trap people further in the cycle of quiet desperation, and they end up walking in circles blindly, waiting passively for something to change. The GPS is the way out—and it starts today.

You can think of me as your coach, or guide. I am here to support and prompt the process of self-discovery and self-empowerment as you make it. Not in the way a therapist might (and we'll get into the distinction between therapy and coaching later), but in the sense that all external problems have an internal origin and an internal solution. The starting point for great transformation, whether professional, spiritual, emotional, or physical, lies within your very own mind.

My role, as your guide, is to reflect who you are and what you are doing. All the agency lies with you, the individual. I am here to listen and to inspire your path of self-discovery and self-empowerment.

You may be wondering what qualifies me to create GPS systems for my clients. There are many parts to the answer. I'll tell you a little about myself in the next chapter.

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

– Michelangelo Buonarroti