Anti-goals

[Harpy Eagle]

I was reading an article today on the use of anti-goals.

Instead of a list of "wants" make a list of "I don't want".

When my wife and I first started to too look at places to move to we found out very quickly things we did not want. And though we did not make a list of them, it made it easier to refine our search.

I had not really thought of doing this in regards to our time in retirement but it seems such a good idea. The options in retirement seem almost limitless, so instead of "I want to do this..." why not "I do not want this..."

Anyone else use this type of thing?

The "What I Don't Want" List - mr-stingy

It's natural to think of life goals as "What I want." But thinking about "What I don't want" can also be immensely powerful.

www.mr-stingy.com

The Power of Anti-Goals | The Curiosity Chronicle

The Curiosity Chronicle has quickly become one of the most popular newsletters for growth-minded individuals in the world. Each week, subscribers receive a deep dive that covers topics ranging from growth and decision-making to business, finance, startups, and technology. In addition...

www.sahilbloom.com

 

[pknopp]

He isn't being honest with himself. IMO

I don’t want to be famous. I want to be respected in my field of expertis

He is saying he does want to be famous, at least in his field so the first part makes no sense.

Goal: Earn $120,000 this year

Anti-goals: Don’t work more than 50 hours a week. Never miss a weekend family outing.

I think the anti-goal is a great goal to set but it's really not saying anything any different than setting a goal.

I want to spend more time with the family.

 

[1srelluc]

What about

 

[DGS49]

Want to see the best example of anti-goals, talk to pregnant teacher about names for the coming baby. 99% of the suggested. names will be rejected because the teacher had negative experiences with a student having that name.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

He isn't being honest with himself. IMO

I don’t want to be famous. I want to be respected in my field of expertis

He is saying he does want to be famous, at least in his field so the first part makes no sense.

I disagree that being respected is the same as being famous.

My mom's husband was the one of the leading, if not the top, protozoologist in the field of microsporidia when he retired. I had no idea this was a thing till years later when we were talking with him and my mom. 10 years after his retirement he would get people sending him papers for his blessing. To claim he was famous would have made him laugh out loud.

 

[pknopp]

I disagree that being respected is the same as being famous.

He wants to be well known in his field. Granted you can become famous for not great reasons. So his goal is still to be famous in his field for good reasons.

I guess I simply don't see the benefit of something just because you state it another way. The goal is still the same.

"I don't want a house where my kids can't go out and play in the yard" Really is not any different than saying "I want a house with a nice yard where the kids can play".

My mom's husband was the one of the leading, if not the top, protozoologist in the field of microsporidia when he retired. I had no idea this was a thing till years later when we were talking with him and my mom. 10 years after his retirement he would get people sending him papers for his blessing. To claim he was famous would have made him laugh out loud.

In his field he was famous.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

I guess I simply don't see the benefit of something just because you state it another way. The goal is still the same.

"I don't want a house where my kids can't go out and play in the yard" Really is not any different than saying "I want a house with a nice yard where the kids can play".

In that example the two are basically the same.

But how about "i do not want to live by an airport" or "I do not want to live close to a school". Then you can narrow your search down by removing those things you do not want.

 

[citygator]

Seems reasonable that working out an optimal solution can be done by listing the most positives or, in this case, the fewest negatives.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

In his field he was famous.

I guess we have a different understanding of the word

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Seems reasonable that working out an optimal solution can be done by listing the most positives or, in this case, the fewest negatives.

I think both are vital the more I think about it.

My wife and I know we want to retire outside of the US.

So, now there are 160ish other countries to choose from. It is easy to narrow that number down by having a list of things that you do not want in said country. Then from there you look to the positives of the remaining on the list