My favorite is "CSI Approach" which we use in the GCI workshops for goal definition. π€ Challenging (won't happen by default) π― Specific (you can recognize when you've arrived) π£ Immediate (next steps now) π Approach (towards, not away)
17 tweets Β· December 2022 Β· 66 likes Β· 2 retweets Β· read on Twitter
My favorite is "CSI Approach" which we use in the GCI workshops for goal definition. π€ Challenging (won't happen by default) π― Specific (you can recognize when you've arrived) π£ Immediate (next steps now) π Approach (towards, not away)
I got CSI Approach from Nick Winter's The Motivation Hacker; iirc he cites Piers Steel but I've seen almost no other references to it online or explanations, so we kinda reverse-engineered how & why each element is key, for our workbook. Remixed for twitter, below! π
π€ Challenging goals: why? Aiming for something that won't happen by default means this really is a goal that needs your conscious strategic attention. And the challenge motivates you to grow and become someone new.
π€ Challenging goals: how? Look for the "challenge accepted" level of difficulty. The level where if you succeeded, you'd be like "wow, now I know I can do that kind of thing! I changed in the process"
π€ Challenging goals: caveats You probably have multiple goals, & there's a level of challenge that would be totally doable on *one* of your goals but utterly overwhelming or even paralyzing if you tried that much challenge on 5 goals at once. All goals share your 168hours/week.
π― Specific goals: why? Having clear details helps you figure out what to prioritize and what to cut when it's crunch time. It also helps with motivation to have a vivid image of the destination.
π― Specific goals: how? If possible, describe the goal such that someone who is watching you would be able to easily tell if you had achieved it or not. For something inner/subjective, it could be a statement about the world that you couldn't honestly say now but would like to.
π― Specific goals: caveats Quantification can be good, though it can also lead to goodharting: focusing on the measurement at the expense of why it matters But sometimes what you want is open-ended exploration. And that's okay! But it can still help to have bite-sized projects
π£ Immediate goals: why? In your map of the world, that has the goal as a destination, you need a "you are here" sign. You need to be *on that map*, and know where you are. You need to exist in continuous relation to the destinationβthe mountain on the horizon isn't a postcard.
π£ Immediate goals: how? If it's not obvious where to start, you might pick a small project you can complete and learn from. I wrote out a bunch of examples in this thread:
π£ Immediate goals: caveats If you dive right into doing stuff, it might end up being entirely unstrategic. There's a tradeoff between doing stuff (which gets you more info) & figuring out the right thing to do. No right answersβdo what seems best. But do something, today.
π Approach goals: why? Awayness can't aim. You have to go *somewhere*. even if you're running from a lion, you could reframe that as running *to* safety. I've got a whole article about this here: malcolmocean.com/2022/02/towardβ¦
π Approach goals: how? In order to not do something, you need to be doing something else. In order for something to not be true about you, something else must be true. What's that thing? One person's "lose weight" becomes "bikini body", another's "cardio health"
π Approach goals: caveats Hard to caveat this one, it's so key. But maybe I'll note that by clarifying what you're moving *towards*, that might activate different kinds of resistance or identity-grasping. So listen closely and see if you can incorporate those concerns.
So, that's the CSI Approach! You want your goals to be: π€ Challenging (won't happen by default) π― Specific (you can recognize when you've arrived) π£ Immediate (next steps now) π Approach-oriented (towards, not away)
If you want to apply these principles to your own life, come to a GCI workshop in January where you have a few hours to pick some goals, clarify them like this, plan, & much more! And you get help from me & other coaches the whole time. complice.co/event/gci?tw=mβ¦
If you're intrigued but kinda suspicious of goals altogether, I might recommend this thread: (in it, I address all the concerns I'm aware of, so hit me with any that it doesn't satisfy!)