“Crisis Boosts the Learning Curve” on 12/31/2008 by Tom Keene on Bloomberg Radio

Tom was discussing the popularity of news coverage. He discussed that due to the the financial crisis, more people are interested in the news.

After hearing Tom’s statement I really thought about how much I learn during any crisis. I came to the conclusion that this is why so many people say you learn more from failure than success.

In the year and half of law school, I’ve learned (and remembered) more about law when there is some type of crisis than I have in class. In the 7 years of running my own business, I’ve learned more during our “times of crisis” than I ever did by reading a great book or college course.

I learn more about my friends and family when we disagree than when we agree.

Think about it.

So, I thought I would outline how to make goals. But first, let me tell you why you need to make goals.

Goals allow you to set milestones and judge performance. Additionally, goals usually aren’t as easy as a single step. For instance, most people say, I want to graduate college. Notice, the goal is to graduate college. Well, to graduate college you have to first graduate high school or take your GED. Then, you have to score above some minimum on either your ACT or SAT. The point is, you can’t just graduate college without accomplishing some intermediate goals first. It’s good to have a big picture (ie “I want to be the President”) but you have to outline goals to allow you to accomplish these things.

That takes me to my first point:
Look at the big picture. Goals should always be a stepping stone toward the big goal. Maybe your goal in life is to be the President of the United States. Each intermediate goal (aka New Year’s Resolution) should get you closer to your big goal. You can have multiple big goals, but make sure all of your intermediate goals are working toward your big goal.

Goals must be measurable. At the end of the year, you need to be able to look back at your goals and say “yes” I accomplished that. Or, you have to be able to say “no”, I didn’t accomplish that because of X. Either way, you can’t say things like “I want to be a better person”. Try saying, “I will donate $10,000 to a charitable organization” or “I will make it a point to say hello to 3 strangers”.

Goals must be attainable. Anyone who sets unattainable goals is doomed for failure. Subconsciously your brain gives up and you forget about meeting the goal. Shoot for the stars but understand that you’re smarter than any empty promises on a piece of paper.

Goals must promote your well being. Yes, don’t set goals that allow you to sit still. I guess this is the definition of a goal but either way, understand that your goals are set to make you a better person. Maybe your goals are professional, personal, or spiritual. But, either way, let your goals bring you up, not down.