Compasses over Maps

We use the word “goal” to talk about so many things.

I want to get better at piano. I’m committed to doing yoga every morning for 3 months. Someday, I’d love to run a marathon. These are all “goals”.

Business school teaches that goals should be measurable, within a set timeframe. Sales targets and KPIs and OKRs are all goals with multiple axes: time and value. We plot our course as we go, adjusting as necessary, until we reach our final destination (up and to the right). These types of goals are maps.

But back here in the real world, life teaches something different.

Maps are rigid ideas. We place a destination marker and chart the shortest route to those coordinates. Maps don’t leave room for exploration or serendipity. Changing course is difficult, and you certainly can’t stop half-way!

These types of goals may yield some short-term success, but ultimately they lead to banality, boredom, and burnout.

A better tool is a compass.

A compass points you in the right direction, but doesn’t dictate any particular path. It opens a door to adventure and possibility. We may get lost, but in those moments we often stumble upon unexpected treasures - hidden pathways, chance encounters, and new perspectives.

While a map goal has a time and value component (the x and y axes), a compass goal includes the territory and the direction.

• I want to run (territory) more often (direction)
• I want to improve (direction) my health (territory)
• I want to learn more about (direction) cooking techniques (territory)

Compass goals remind us that the journey is more important than the destination.

Compass goals are still goals. It is possible to wander aimlessly with no direction at all, embracing a sense of wonder and delight in every experience. This can sound like:

• I love being in nature
• Spending time with my kids is important to me
• There’s nothing better than a book and a warm bed

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That way of thinking is not without worth, but it doesn’t move a person forward, it doesn’t help with goal setting. In a kabbalistic sense, this sort of self-wandering relates the sefirah of Chesed, which represents devotion, love, and desire.

Map goals, on the other hand, are like the sefirah of Gevurah, representing discipline, limitation, and judgement. Like Chesed, Gevurah is an important and helpful part of life, but alone, it has ultimately negative outcomes for goals.

Sitting between these two sefirot is Tiferet. Tiferet is all about integration, beauty, and balance. Our goals serve our needs best when they strike a harmony between the whimsy and desire of Chesed, and the discipline of Gevurah.

Compass goals, or we could call them Tiferet goals, retain the excitement and enjoyment of our task, while continuing to point us in the right direction.