The Importance of Anti-Goals

I think this is what some of us learned at home, Sunday school, and even in our communities to set anti-goals so we can know how best to invest our energy, effort, willpower and time to avoid being unhappy in life. https://link.medium.com/imQN3hkIc9 

We are obsessed with goals. Knowing what some non-goals are can also help. 

Yes we talk about GOAL-SETTING all the time and become so obsessed with results (most tumes vanity measures). Every time you write out a goal for yourself, try to write an anti-goal and/or a non-goal.

Anti-goals can:

Nudge you to think through the goal more clearly and arrive at a more focused goal (not all goals or tasks you set for yourself are important). I think the Eisenhower metrix can help here.

Anti-goals can help shape our overall goals by what we don’t have to measure because we don’t care, and establishing what is relevant by what isn’t. A useful non-goal identifies outcomes that are often paired with, related to, or is a by-product of the stated goal.

Having anti-goal can result in a more precise description of the goal, by also stating what would not be the goal especially if the project/activity/job/change journey/duty/task spans some months, the anti-goals serve as a reminder to the project champions a boundary of scope.

Anti-goals can help you define what you are actually trying to avoid, if any.

Anti-goals can shape your expectations and what to specifically avoid.

Anti-goals can speak to the intent of the project/task/activity, especially the “why” behind the goal but stating what it isn’t.

Anti-Goals also provide clarity. Above and beyond improving transparency and managing your personal expectations, setting forth your anti-goals from the very beginning of a project/task or whatever you are working on creates a real sense of clarity for the work to be done.

I think this can be applied to any aspect of life (relationship, finance, career, personal development, starting & managing your own business, health, etc).

On anti-goals: What isn’t measured or valued is sacrificed to improve that which is measured or valued.

I remember a thread I mentioned not enrolling in random online courses & webinars or workshops.
That's because of the importance of anti-goals. Know what online courses/workshops/webinars to participate and the ones to ignore.

Someone also wrote about anti-values & anti-goals.

"So, instead of thinking through what we wanted our perfect day to look like, we thought about the worst day imaginable and how to avoid it. We inverted and came up with what we call Anti-Goals." ~
Andrew Wilkinson https://medium.com/@awilkinson/the-power-of-anti-goals-c38f5f46d23c