Goals-based vs. Values-based: My Frustration with Fixes and Checklists

A little over a year ago I decided to get a tattoo. The tree I now have inked on my right hip serves as a reminder of possibly my best and worst personality trait: my desire to fix things. For me, the tree shows the delicate balance and dichotomy of meaning to do good (living branches stretching upwards) versus the surprisingly destructive effects of wanting to fix things like character tendencies or feelings (dead lower limbs). But I continually question where this attitude comes from, particularly in the last few weeks when so many of my conversations seemed to flirt around this idea of quantifiable resolutions and fixes.

I was perusing through some of my favorite online fitness magazines this morning when it smacked me in the face. As an avid gym junkie, woman, and American, I have been slammed with media and cultural ideals telling me that there are ten ways to a perfect spring break body and five easy steps to get toned fast. Media representation will surely be a future topic, but I’m more concerned with our fixing culture, and how we think we can achieve some semblance of perfection through lists with some desired end goal.

During a Prindle reading group last week for Ken Bain’s, What the Best College Students Do, a professor made (what was for me) a revolutionary statement. She said that we need to stop making lists where you can check things off. Instead of being goal-oriented, she suggested being value-oriented. What is the value of a value-oriented list?

Setting end goals like losing five pounds, or getting all A’s is like a horse running with blinders: you see a destination and only the one path to get there. What do we accomplish for ourselves by checking off this list?

I propose instead, that we should set immeasurable goals. Ambitions that can always be worked towards and involve creativity and a network of paths towards a feeling of success. A list like: be more involved in the community, make decisions that make me feel healthy, and give more compliments. Easier said than done, but that’s the challenge, and I believe that a list like this will create habitual change instead of a one-stop fad diet.

What is the intrigue of a checklist? Are there benefits to having lists with end goals? How can they be harmful? I’m fascinated by this obsession of fixing things and making lists for ourselves, and I always hope that I can turn my attention towards the process and values learned when trying to achieve something, rather than an end goal.