Tag: goals

JFM-2024 Goals

I don’t have annual goals. I plan only for a quarter – 12 weeks. You can visualize 12 weeks easily and control most of the parameters too.

For the past four years, I’ve been using WINS — Wealth, Insights, Networking, and Self, for setting my goals.

Here goes my JFM 2024 goals.

Wealth

Insights (learn by doing)

  • Continue this daily commonlog posting
  • Focus on the theme of “Being a Dad; Being a CXO” for the podcast

Networking

  • Start meeting people offline
  • Can you record podcast interviews offline?
  • Don’t hesitate to ping interesting people on LinkedIn

Self

  • Restart jogging (may be after cold winter gets little better – after Jan 20th?)
  • Continue the streak of moving at least for 30 min (so far I’m at 125 continuous days)
  • Homeschooling
    • Josh
      • graduate out of grade 2 of Trinity exam
      • prepare for NIOS 10th exam
      • complete Personal MBA book
    • Jerry
      • complete draft of the book
      • complete Personal MBA book

Strategy, Tactics, Logistics – you need all three to achieve your goals

You need strategy, tactics, and logistics to reach your goals. Strategy is knowing where you’re going and why. If you’re clear on these two, you’ll achieve your goals. A tactic is a road map, a detailed plan to get you there. Last but not least, logistics is the support system.

Let’s look at a few examples.

You’re thinking of buying a house. Think about why. Is it for your growing family, an investment, or retirement? Each reason changes what you expect from a house. If you’re buying for investment, maybe you’re looking for a city property with high rent potential. A peaceful community away from the city bustle might be best for retirement.

Dig deeper into the “why” to refine your strategy. If you’re buying a home as an investment, is it better to get a residential or commercial place? Or invest in an index fund? Uncertainty can lead to struggling and procrastinating. Decide what you want and why.

If you are unclear about your why, you’ll never achieve your goal.

Then comes tactics – your road map. Let’s say you want to buy a house for retirement. Start looking for good locations, nearby amenities, and potential development. Set a deadline for making a decision and figure out how much you’ll need. Break down your tactics into smaller steps: visit potential locations, consult with real estate agents, and compare mortgage options. Each step brings you closer to your goal.

Last but not least, logistics – the support system. What’s the budget and when do you need it? Are you going to take out a bank loan, how much money are you going to put down as an initial payment? Are you going to use an agent, if so, who? Can friends who bought recently in that area help you with info? To buy a house on time, you need all these things in place at the right time.

By understanding the strategy of your goal, crafting a detailed tactical plan, and building a solid logistical system, you’ll be well-equipped to turn dreams into reality.

Or consider this: you want to create a product. Why are you doing it? For fun, learning, supporting your lifestyle, or planning to sell later? Each purpose affects what features you’ll include and how you’ll manage them. The tactics include choosing the language, determining features, setting a launch date, validating the product, and getting feedback. In terms of logistics, think about the tools you’ll use and who’ll help you get to the finish line.

To achieve any goal, you need strategy (knowing what and why), tactics (a detailed roadmap), and logistics (a support system). If all three align with clarity, you’ll make your dream come true.

Snowball, not slot-machines

 

Over the past years, I’ve been crafting my personal flywheel, a wheel of interconnected components. With each improvement, the wheel spins faster, gaining momentum. My flywheel consists of wealth, insights, network, and self-control – WINS.

We all have different starting points; some with more money, some with more knowledge, and others with a vast network. When you have wealth, you can access better courses, buy books others can’t afford, and attend exclusive workshops. These experiences provide insights that connect you to more people and opportunities, increasing your wealth. But this flywheel needs an axle: self-control. Without it, the wheel spins out of control and crashes.

As I pondered my focus for 2024, I stumbled upon an article by Justin Jackson. Though it’s about marketing, I found a personal catchphrase: “Snowball not slot machines.”

A snowball starts small but grows larger as it rolls, gaining mass and momentum. Slot machines are one-off events that give fleeting satisfaction but no lasting success.

In 2024, I’m focusing on building snowballs rather than chasing the momentary thrill of slot machines.

What are the examples of slot-machines?

  • getting lost in watching random YouTube videos
  • drifting aimlessly through Twitter
  • playing video games mindlessly

These activities give you a quick hit of dopamine, a fleeting sense of pleasure and satisfaction. But they don’t help you in the long run. They don’t build momentum or give you any lasting advantage.

Now picture snowballing assets, starting small and growing larger over time.

Take writing on LinkedIn as an example. You craft a great post and share it with the world. As the days pass, it catches more eyes and gains momentum, providing leverage and benefits. The same goes for meeting people and building a network. It begins with little significance but grows into something valuable with time.

Consider investing in a mutual fund. You can start small, but over time, dividends accumulate and can be reinvested, creating a snowball effect.

In each area of your life, you can build these snowballs.

As I look toward 2024, I’m going to focus more on snowballs than slot machines. I’ll try to curb my phone usage and aimless scrolling through YouTube videos – I know I can’t stop completely, but I’ll strive to control these fleeting desires. Instead, I’ll work on growing my snowballs to see where they lead me.

What are you focusing in 2024?

Chasing Borrowed Goals

Most of our goals are borrowed goals, which explains why we don’t achieve them. We covet what others possess and desire it for ourselves: a fit body with chiseled abs like our favorite actor, a luxurious BMW like our colleague’s, or a spacious three-bedroom house like our boss’s. Our purchases – from clothes to amenities – are driven not by necessity but by a desire to emulate others.

It’s in our nature to mimic. When we’re little, we imitate our parents and siblings, and when we’re in school, we mirror the popular kid. Nature and nurture have conditioned us to mimic others’ behaviors and desires.

There are three problems with these borrowed goals:
• they hook us onto a hedonic treadmill
• they don’t motivate us into action
• they leave us disappointed

These borrowed goals get us hooked on a hedonic treadmill – an endless cycle of chasing satisfaction that never materializes. When I began working, I commuted by public bus and longed for a bike to bring me happiness. Once I acquired one, the joy lasted only six months before I yearned for a car to escape the rain and heat. After obtaining my car, I soon coveted bigger and better vehicles like my colleagues’. It’s the same in other areas.

We go from renting to buying homes, always looking for more space as we compare ourselves to others. Then, when we finally move into our spacious apartment, our coworkers move into villas, and we dream about buying one. Although we achieve our earlier wishes, our dreams and desires evolve and we are always on a treadmill, running but never arriving at what we want.

Secondly, these borrowed ambitions don’t inspire action. Instagram pictures of our friend’s trip might inspire us to visit Thailand, Prague, or the Arctic Circle, but once we realize the overheads of planning, saving, and traveling, we give up. We want to arrive without taking a step.

We all want a fit body. However, we’re reluctant to exercise and eat healthy. As we delay or drop doing those things, we invent excuses.

Because these borrowed goals aren’t tailored to our contexts, they don’t motivate us. We just fantasize about them without doing anything. We don’t achieve these goals because they aren’t ours; they belong to someone else.

As a result, these borrowed goals lead to disappointment and perpetual discontent. Either we don’t achieve them or we keep upgrading our ambitions without ever feeling satisfied. Our lives become marred by disappointment when we keep borrowing goals that weren’t meant for us.

We often get stuck in a cycle of setting loftier goals, then falling short and giving up. We’re stuck in this unending cycle of dissatisfaction, which keeps us from moving forward. Our sense of failure paralyzes us, making it hard for us to move forward and reach new milestones.