What Works A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal Setting

Set and achieve your goals in a brand-new way for a more fulfilling life

In What Works: A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal Setting, celebrated speaker, coach, and author Tara McMullin shows you how to transform the way you set and achieve your goals to create a gentler and more fulfilling way to work toward what you truly want. In the book, you’ll explore what’s driving your pursuit of “more” (more money, more things, more prestige, etc.), set commitments to help orient your growth, and organize your actions as part of a holistic learning process.

The author’s actionable strategies and tools go beyond mere platitudes about “slowing down” and “appreciating what you have” to a concrete demonstration of how to prioritize practice over achievement. You’ll also find:

• An antidote to our culture’s relentless pursuit of “more”
• Ways to end the habit of constantly striving for something else at the cost of your own wellbeing
• Strategies for ending your internal monologue of constant comparison to other people

An essential book for the productivity obsessed, unfulfilled career ladder-climbers, and overachievers who are ready to try a new approach to life and work, What Works represents a powerful and exciting new way to tackle life’s challenges.

Tara McMullin is the host of What Works, a business and culture podcast about navigating the 21st century economy without losing your humanity. She’s also the co-founder of YellowHouse.Media, a boutique podcast production company. Her work has been featured in Fast Company, The Startup, The Muse, and The Huffington Post.

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Validation Spiral 17

Chapter 2 Why Are We So Obsessed with Goals? 33

Chapter 3 Who Am I without the Doing? 47

Chapter 4 The Satisfaction of Practice in an Achievement-Oriented World 63

Chapter 5 Calculating Capacity 77

Chapter 6 Growth without Striving 97

Chapter 7 Choosing Your Destination 111

Chapter 8 Choosing Your Direction 133

Chapter 9 Buying In 145

Chapter 10 Planning Projects 157

Chapter 11 Follow-Through, Self-Sabotage, Margin 169

Conclusion 187

Notes 191

Acknowledgments 199

About the Author 201

Index 203

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.