It is a very famous quote and you must have heard it somewhere, which goes something like ‘a goal without a plan is just a wish’. Antoine de Saint Exupéry is the person who famously quoted this statement, and since then it has become a sort of a rule for high achievers to focus on his words.
To achieve success, you have to be willing to make changes and set about a clear plan on how those changes need to be made. Without a plan, you are nowhere near a solid structure of a strategy to achieve success through your goals.
What is the Meaning of a Goal without Plan is Just a Wish?
When we do goal setting, we usually reflect on our personal or professional lives, look at our skills, do a bit of wishful thinking and then set realistic goals. But, what comes after that?
You might have a goal to become a millionaire overnight, but how? Where do you get started? What would Antoine de Saint Exupery say?
This is the core idea behind the quote, a goal without a plan is just a wish. If you do not have concrete plans towards achievement of your goals, then you are not taking any steps to achieve your wish and make it a reality.
There is even scientific evidence to prove that a goal without a plan has no chances of success. A study collected data from over 100 participants, who were broken down into 5 different groups. Each group had the same task at hand, but differences were based on one group having no action plan, other’s being given clear steps and another being left on their own to track their goals. The study found that people with a clear action plan had a success rate of 76% of achieving their wishes.
This makes it imperative then that a clear goal is incomplete without an actionable plan, making it necessary to focus on the near future.
But First, Who Was Antoine de Saint-Exupéry?
Before we breakdown the quote, first we need to realise the inspirational personality of Antoine de Saint Exupery. At a bird’s eye view, he was a successful airplane pilot before World War II, primarily flying for mail routes. He flew through South America, Africa and Europe and in the end joined the French air force. However, in 1940, with the fall of France to the Nazi’s, Antoine de Saint Exupery then flew to United States working within a military squadron.
He took his last flight in 1944 from Corsica as a French military air fighter on a reconnaissance mission, but never returned. No news was discovered for him until 60 years later, when a wreckage was identified near Marseille and is considered to be Antoine’s plane.
The reason Antoine is considered an inspiration and his quote is still remembered today is due to his heroic efforts and inspirational life story. Being born to an impoverished family, Antoine worked his way up in life. He also published various books, out of which the Le Petit Prince or The Little Prince is the most famous.
Much like the story of The Little Prince, Antoine also lived his life fighting against the odds and dreaming of better times with a hope for the future.
Breaking-Down the Renowned Goal Quote
You might have read it in passing that a goal without a plan is just a wish. However, let us now take the time to break down this quote and actually understand what it means.
A goal is a desired end result, perception of a future world you want to see or a measurable direction you want to take. On the other hand, a plan a detailed proposal, which establishes the short term and long term effort that needs to be made.
In simple words, a goal is the end and plan is the path that leads to the end. Both the aspects are incomplete without the other, especially a goal cannot be reached unless you have a set plan to take the next steps.
If we look at it another way, many of us day dream multiple times every day. In these day dreams, we become millionaires, never fail and our wishes see completion without doing any hard work. But now I ask you how many of these dreams have you actually managed to achieve? I am assuming not many because a day dream is simply a wish made without any real effort.
We cannot look at our professional and personal goals in the same manner as we perceive our day dreams. Unless relevant steps are taken to set the foundation, with inner desire and motivation to prepare ourselves for the hard work, only then can we be able to achieve our goals and their effects on our life, in a realistic world.
Our progress so far has been to review the character and story of Antoine de Saint Exupery, followed by the ability to define the quote, a goal without a plan is just a wish. The next step is to take a deep dive into tangible results that may happen with smart goals and working hard.
Is goal without a plan a waste?
An article written on successful CEOs, Forbes made the argument that set goals without the effort of intentional change can be termed as a waste of time. Although, when making changes for your future, using such strong language can spread negativity, but to look at it from a positive perspective, use this perception to encourage yourself as a matter of change.
If you happen to imagine a successful future but only imagine it without any real changes, then are you any closer to that successful future? Not really.
This is why, when setting goals, your aim must be to first find an established goal, create a plan to take action and then finally review your milestones.
The Absence of a Plan Makes a Goal Unreal
Let’s take the example of a man who want to budget his income to increase his savings. He has this goal, but never gets round to planning to create a budget, but keeps spending. His goal can then be called wishful thinking because he is not taking any concrete steps towards change.
The absence of a plan in the man’s life means that the goal is there but it is unreal for him to achieve it. How can you expect to increase savings without accounting for your costs and income?
This is why, when a plan is not present to make the changes, the goal might as well be unreal for you.
You can also look at it from another perspective. When you set goals, you can anticipate two outcomes, you either achieve the goal or you don’t. The outcomes, therefore are extremely black and white, you either make mistakes, learn, but still achieve your goals, or you never try.
The Importance of Goal Setting in Life and Business
Goal setting and planning is as important for business, if not more, than goals being set on a personal level.
We can look at it from the example of an SME (Small and Medium sized Enterprise), who are looking to sell their products. They have opened a business and sell high quality clothes, but without a marketing plan, how can we expect them to reach their audience. This is exactly to have a goal and no plan, which makes the goal unreal to achieve.
However, in this section of the article, I will reiterate the importance of having goals. It is better to create goals, then to simply give up and never look for any progress through change.
Having unfinished goals is not as bad as never envisioning change. So, don’t be daunted when you start a goal, instead personalise your goal to keep yourself motivated.
Further Reading on Setting and Achieving Goals
If you are daunted by setting goals and are afraid to join any actionable steps in your daily life, then you can get motivated through books. Books can be essential to motivate yourself for personal or professional achievements.
- The first book that we will be recommending is The Book of Mistakes by Skip Richard. In this book, 9 mistakes that successful people do not make are given. The mistake that can prove most relevant for goal setting and avoiding wishful thinking, is to live another person’s dream. If you do not listen to your heart in matters of goal setting then you will never come up with a good plan to achieve it.
- The second book recommendation is The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte. In this book, the author encourages you to look within and come up with goals that are true to who you are. As long as your goals are a reflection of your inner most achievements, then your actions and milestones will be easier to achieve.
- The third book is to improve your mind set through reading, so that you are better at planning and creating goals. The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale is a book about developing positive mentality and how it can do much more benefits to your health and wellbeing than you assume. The book also establishes ways in which it can be done, for instance through avoiding comparisons, broadening your thinking and being a hero in your own story.
Who Said a Goal without a Timeline is Just a Dream?
To conclude this discussion, we just want you to remember that a goal without a plan is just a wish, but it is your life and your decisions that matter more than meeting a goal.
Yes it might be that goals that you set without a time frame of planning are just dreams, but dreaming is better than forcing yourself to achieve something that you are not ready for. So, take your time, reflect and reassess your wants and desires, then set goals that drive you.
