My Indie Mindset (6/9): No fixed goals, just direction
Stop setting random targets. Start pointing your compass.
Welcome back to the Indie Mindset series. If you missed the previous ones, you can catch up here:
My Indie Mindset series (9 parts):
No fixed goals, just direction
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Today’s post is about how I’ve never really set goals, and why that actually works for me.
6. No fixed goals, just direction
Another key thing that has worked really well for me is not setting fixed goals.
Hank Green mentioned this in his video too. He said he doesn't have goals or dreams, which helps him enjoy what he does more.
The other day I was listening to a podcast, and the host said something that hit me hard:
“When you set a goal, you’re discarding many others.”
I don’t remember if he was quoting someone or just thinking out loud, but when I heard that, I realized:
I’ve never really set goals.
I see lots of people with revenue goals, like “I want to make X per month”. That’s never been my thing. I just do the best I can with the time and energy I have, and wherever that gets me, fine.
Unless you have a super predictable business model and can control every little variable, setting those goals can become more of a mental burden than a helpful guide.
Not having goals doesn’t mean I’m lost. I do have a direction:
I want to keep making a living from my own projects.
I want more free time.
I’m motivated by building things.
But I don’t pressure myself with “I need to launch X websites per month” or “I must hit X revenue”.
For example, when one of my SEO clients dropped off earlier this summer, I knew that part of my income would dip. But if I had set a goal like “I need to make X,” I’d immediately feel the stress of filling that gap fast just to hit an arbitrary number.
That’s not how I want to operate.
And sometimes, people confuse goals with life objectives. I do have those.
Let me share a personal example to show how I’ve integrated this into my mindset:
Buying a house was one of my life objectives.
My wife and I worked our asses off after graduating, with that goal in the back of our minds.
And we were lucky that some of our projects went well, we sold our small flat and, a few years ago, we were able to buy a house.
That was an actual life goal.
Something that changed our day-to-day, not just a revenue milestone.
So I’d reframe it like this:
- Don’t obsess over small goals.
- Have a direction.
- And if you set goals, make sure they’re actually meaningful.
As always, this is an extract from my 30-minute video (in Spanish), where I talk about the 9 mindset pillars that have shaped my indie journey. If you want to watch the whole thing with auto-subs, here it is:
Thanks for reading.
Sergi Ruiz, from The Indie Path
I really like this. Thank you for sharing.