I want to share this excellent article about “setting goals”.
It’s called “Why goal setting doesn’t work”.
Apparently they aren’t a great idea and the article explains why.
I like how in the second part the author differentiates between goal and intention.
I find it’s particularly true for me (and perhaps everyone) working in the arts field.
We start an illustration with an intention, not with a goal in mind. We are probably unaware of it, but only by serving our intention we can succeed or fail partially or totally while still being willing to work on a new piece.
A goal is an ideal carved in a stone of an imaginary world. Intentions, on the other hand, demand to focus in the present and in our own work and skill.
Goals are fixed and at the same time volatile (because imaginary). Intentions give way to a practical process that often nurtures itself healthily.
The need of producing art, in fact, never truly ends because the artist knows there’s no goal other than the process itself.