Anatomy of a goal

Year 2000, flying cars. Year 2020, all-green energy.

These goals are delusional. And there’s a formula as to why:

  • Dream = Dream. That’s all it is.
  • Dream + Deadline = Delusion. This is our “new millennium flying cars” thing. The deadline didn’t make it so, the work never happened, as much as I wanted to have been during the 90s.
  • Dream + Milestones = Goal. What has to happen next year? What about next month? What about next week? What about tomorrow? The milestones make or break the dream, making the goal measurable.

The adage, “A goal is a dream with a deadline”, is mistaken. Instead, toil through an arduous series of milestones and see if that dream really can come true.