Setting personal goals holds more significance in daily life than conforming to societal standards. Internalizing societal goals only affects individuals to the extent that they have internalized them. While many successful individuals perpetually set new goals and never feel they have 'made it,' it is possible to adopt a mindset of continual goal setting. Even Olympic gold medalist Kerry Walsh Jennings immediately sets new goals after achieving a victory, demonstrating the human tendency to constantly compare reality to personal goals.
What matters more: meeting our own ambitions, or winning fame and glory? What’s it like to earn a gold medal at the Olympics? And why didn’t Mike’s grandfather get a watch?
- RESOURCES:
- "Why Success Doesn’t Lead to Satisfaction," by Ron Carucci (Harvard Business Review, 2023).
- "Katie Ledecky Matches Michael Phelps Record With Dominant World Championships Win," by Patrick Andres (Sports Illustrated, 2023).
- Success Index, by Populace and Gallup (2019).
- "PERMA and the Building Blocks of Well-Being," by Martin Seligman (The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2018).
- "Michael Phelps: ‘I Am Extremely Thankful That I Did Not Take My Life,’" by Susan Scutti (CNN, 2018).
- "The PERMA-Profiler: A Brief Multidimensional Measure of Flourishing," by Julie Butler and Margaret L. Kern (International Journal of Wellbeing, 2016).
- "Diana Nyad: Dream Accomplished," by Michel Martin (Tell Me More, 2013).
- "A Kinder, Gentler Philosophy of Success," by Alain de Botton (TEDGlobal, 2009).
- "The Difference Between Winning and Succeeding," by John Wooden (TED, 2001).