Morton Learning

A very interesting article in the August edition of 'In the Black' magazine posed the question of whether those people who live their life by setting and then trying to achieve their goals miss out on the random opportunities the chaotic world we live in presents us on our journey through life.   If you are like me you would of attended hundreds of workshops, seminars and lectures that repeatedly tell you that the practice of working towards set goals is essential for success in life, relationships and business.  

 Education and Psychology experts  Bright and Prior question this traditional view of goal setting by saying that their research indicates that goals only work best under 'controlled conditions' because you can't ignore the complex and unpredictable nature of the real world?  These experts believe that goals are best used to motivate us in the short term - perhaps on a day to day or monthly basis because any goals longer than this time frame is subject to the complexity and unexpected nature of life.  Who saw the GFC, 9/11, Swine Flu coming???  They believe that people who ridgidly work towards a long term goal  - not matter what-  may actually be doing themselves a dis- service as they close themselves off from unexpected opportunity because of their focus on the final prize.   

I like the idea of being open and ready for opportunity and  I think the most useful advice these guys have come up with is what they call the Luck Readiness Index (LRI)   - I'm not joking!  This index defines a set of characteristics people need to deal with in an uncertain world  - they include expecting failure, flexibility, optimism, risk-taking, persistence and best of all - expecting to get lucky.  Their research shows that people who are lucky actually expected to be lucky.!