What a goal is for

Packing for the airport has a destination, a deadline and consequences. It can matter a great deal without saying much about the person doing it.

I find that appealing as a model for a goal. The goal gives an order to actions that would otherwise compete for attention. If something changes, the steps can be rearranged. Its purpose stays clear even when the plan needs adjusting.

Larger goals can acquire another job. They start representing ambition, discipline or the kind of life someone believes they should have. An attempt now has to produce a result while confirming a story about the person attempting it.

That extra job makes the result harder to learn from. A missed target may call for a change in timing, preparation or approach. Those are different problems. If the target also has to settle a question about identity, the differences can disappear inside a much larger judgment.

The goal becomes less useful at the moment it is needed to organise the next step.

I don't think importance requires that burden. Revenue matters to a business. A qualification can open a door. The consequences can be taken seriously and described specifically enough to act on.

If a project earns less than expected, its offer may need work. Its costs may need to change. It may need more time or a different direction. Each explanation suggests a different decision. A verdict on the whole person offers very little help choosing among them.

What I want from a goal is a way to put uncertainty to work. What can I influence? What needs preparing? What would count as useful progress? Preparing an offer and putting it in front of a customer are actions. Making the customer want it isn't an action I can perform for them.

Their response still matters. It gives me information I couldn't get from preparation alone. I want enough commitment to seek that response and enough room to learn from it.

A practical goal can matter deeply while keeping a modest job: helping me decide what to do next. Like packing for the airport, it can organise the effort without requiring every step to say something about who I am.