A New Approach To Goal Setting: Focus On The Hero

Goals are a very interesting concept. Many people view goal setting and being goal oriented as a way to achieve success in life, and the constant adage of “if you set a goal and work hard, you can achieve it” is constantly trotted out as the key to success, and in some cases happiness. Throughout my life, I’ve had several overarching goals that have been very important, and each of these goals has come with a wide variety of subgoals, or checkpoints on the road to my ultimate end.

I will caveat this article by saying that much of goal setting, motivations, and mindset is individual; what worked for me may not work for you, and vice versa. However, I think that only one approach (goal oriented) really gets talked about in modern society, and I think there is much more discussion to be had.

Later on, a mentor introduced me to a different approach, one that was more system-oriented. Instead of having monthly or yearly goals, I turned focus on everything that was around me in my role as a high-school athlete. I tried to optimize every aspect of my life, from academics to my sport, to my physical training, to even my spiritual life. While this approach worked well for me at a time, I don’t believe that it was a complete concept. I left my undergraduate education with a good “system” in my life, but for a while I lacked purpose, and didn’t see the point in pushing myself in various areas.

I think that a lot of young people, especially ones who played college sports, fall into this trap. They graduate having had a good system around them to support their performance, but they don’t have a purpose and a guidance going forward for most areas of their life. Most of their focus shifts to work, graduate education, and being a socialite, and often leads to decline in other areas, such as physical fitness, personal discipline, and moral foundation.

Several months ago, I started hearing Jordan Peterson talk about archetypes in his various lectures, and something about that stuck with me. We often look to our heroes both in this life and in movies as role models and seek to imitate certain characteristics that we see in them, such as the silent strength of Batman, or the selfless attitude of Captain America. But we can take this concept of these mythical archetypes and apply it to ourselves.

What if you were a superhero? What if a Hollywood director could create the perfect version of YOU? What would you look and sound like? How would you treat others? What would you accomplish in the world? If we reflect and think about the ideal version of ourselves, the goals and the method to achieve those goals become very clear almost immediately.

For example, if a man envisions himself as the attractive, rich, successful businessman, he has a clear path in front of him to achieve that. He knows he needs to keep himself in good physical shape and maintain a good level of hygiene so that he can look good in a suit for his photoshoot, or on vacation in Maui. He knows that he needs to learn how to manage money and be smart with his investments; he must save his money and drive the old Honda civic now, so that he can ride around in a Mercedes when he’s older. Finally, he has to learn how to outwork and outthink his competition in the business world to contend and succeed, and thus has to develop the discipline and the intensity to do what other people cannot.

By focusing on our own ideal archetype, or the characteristics in ourselves that we would like to have, it is remarkable the clarity in the goals and the required effort that lay themselves out in front of us. So the next time you find yourself in a period of transition, or a period in which you lack purpose, look at the ideal version of yourself and find the gaps in between who you are, and who you ultimately desire to be.