(And what I do instead.)
“When you are asked, ‘What’s your SMART goal?’ you’re really being asked, ‘What’s missing?’”
It took me years to see that.
As a former accountant, strategy consultant, and someone who once worshipped at the altar of productivity, goal-setting came naturally. It was clean. Measurable. Motivational. Or so I thought.
But over time, I started to notice something underneath the surface. Something far more insidious:
Goal-setting—particularly the SMART variety—is rooted in a subtle but persistent form of disassociation.
It says:
“You’re here… but you should be over there.” “You don’t have it yet… but if you try hard enough, you might.” “You’re not enough now… but maybe one day.”
It sounds helpful. It’s actually harmful.
The Disassociation Trap
SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) sound great in theory. They’re everywhere—from coaching manuals to HR departments to motivational workshops.
But here’s what they all have in common: They’re built on the assumption of lack.
“What’s your goal?” = “What’s wrong?” = “What do you need to fix, improve, or attain before you’re allowed to feel successful?”
It’s a psychological loop that keeps you chasing. You become the person striving to become. And that very act disconnects you from who you already are.
Emotional Consumerism, Dressed Up as Self-Improvement
I’ve come to think of this as emotional consumerism.
Where traditional consumerism sells you products you don’t need… Emotional consumerism sells you identities that aren’t yours.
And the coaching industry—despite its best intentions—often plays right into this.
It tells you to set goals, achieve outcomes, close the gap. But what if the gap isn’t real?
What if the entire premise of “setting goals” is based on a worldview of scarcity?
Abundance Doesn’t Live in a KPI
In my article Creating from the Heart, I wrote:
“The feminine doesn’t need a framework. She doesn’t work on timelines. She doesn’t care about your OKRs.”
Creation—true creation—doesn’t come from performance metrics. It doesn’t emerge from a deficit. It arises from wholeness.
“Creating from the heart is not a strategy—it’s a state.”
And abundance, as I’ve come to learn, is not something you earn. It’s not a milestone or an outcome. It’s a frequency. A field. A felt experience.
You don’t “achieve” abundance. You remember you are it.
The Shift: From SMART Goals to Soulful Knowing
I’m not against direction. I’m not against intention.
But I am against systems that teach you to believe you are perpetually incomplete.
What I teach now—and what I live—is not about getting from here to there.
It’s about:
- Reconnecting to your own energetic centre
- Reclaiming the parts of you exiled by ambition
- Creating from sufficiency, not striving
And that doesn’t require a SMART goal. It requires a willingness to see yourself—not as someone who must become—but as someone who already is.
Final Thought
The future isn’t powered by those who can optimise productivity. It’s powered by those who can embody presence.
Not from the mind. From the heart.
Because the more you chase your goals, the further you may drift from yourself.
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