{"id":61890,"date":"2022-03-05T16:44:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T20:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=61890"},"modified":"2025-09-03T15:54:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T19:54:53","slug":"goal-alignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/","title":{"rendered":"Achieve Goal Alignment to Set Yourself Up for Success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do you choose goals? Do you set goals that actually fit you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deepak Chopra argues that you have innate gifts and talents that you\u2019re meant to contribute to the world\u2014and that you should choose goals that align with these natural tendencies because they feel more meaningful and enjoyable to pursue. He claims that aligning your strengths, interests, and positive intentions in this way creates the perfect environment for success<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how to achieve<\/a> goal alignment to get on the road to true success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of Shortform\u2019s guide to success<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Achieving Goal Alignment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chopra notes that goal alignment\u2014directing your natural talents and positive intentions toward goals you enjoy\u2014increases your engagement, keeps you focused on what you want to experience, discourages resistant thoughts, and creates an easy and natural momentum. As a result, your thought-energy<\/a> flows to what you want<\/em> to experience, reflects your positive energy, and creates experiences that feel meaningful and satisfying. In contrast, goals that don\u2019t<\/em> align with your natural strengths and interests deplete your energy and move you further away from satisfaction and joy. These goals distract you from what you\u2019re meant<\/em> to be doing: Instead, you wastefully direct your thought-energy to things that you think you should<\/em> do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: According to research in the area of positive psychology<\/a>, Chopra\u2019s advice to align your goals with your natural inclinations rather than what you think <\/em>you should do does indeed improve your chances of successfully achieving these goals<\/a>: You\u2019re more likely to feel motivated and experience an upward emotional spiral (increased feelings of happiness and satisfaction) when you pursue goals<\/a> that genuinely interest you. This positive mental state allows you to access the best parts of yourself\u2014your unique strengths and talents\u2014and apply them to successfully achieve your goal.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why would you choose misaligned goals that can never satisfy you? According to Chopra, it\u2019s because you\u2019re allowing your concerns regarding money, time, or what other people expect you to do to prevent you from discovering your natural inclinations. He suggests that you give yourself permission to discover your natural strengths and learn more about what brings you joy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distinguish Between Aligned Goals and Misaligned Goals<\/strong>

The authors of Minimalism<\/em><\/a> offer a more specific explanation for why you would choose misaligned goals based on what you think<\/em> you should do, rather than your natural talents. They claim that there are four obstructions holding you back from discovering your natural inclinations and interests<\/a>: identity, status, certainty, and money. For example, you may focus on career goals that drain your energy rather than trying to find goals that align with your interests<\/a> because your financial security and sense of identity are tied up with your career status. 

Become aware of how these obstructions influence you, and distinguish between the goals and activities that satisfy you (aligned) and the ones that don\u2019t (misaligned), by tracking all of the activities you take part in over the next few weeks. Next, reflect on each activity by asking yourself the following questions: 

Is this something I want to do or am I fulfilling external expectations?

Do I enjoy this? If so, what\u2019s the most enjoyable aspect of it?

Does this make me feel energized or drained? Motivated or unmotivated?

How can I create opportunities to engage more in the activities that I enjoy?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do you choose goals? Do you set goals that actually fit you? Deepak Chopra argues that you have innate gifts and talents that you\u2019re meant to contribute to the world\u2014and that you should choose goals that align with these natural tendencies because they feel more meaningful and enjoyable to pursue. He claims that aligning your strengths, interests, and positive intentions in this way creates the perfect environment for success. Here’s how to achieve goal alignment to get on the road to true success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":61892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,42,43],"tags":[587],"class_list":["post-61890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career","category-motivation","category-self-improvement","tag-the-seven-spiritual-laws-of-success","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nAchieve Goal Alignment to Set Yourself Up for Success - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Goal alignment increases your engagement, keeps you focused, discourages resistant thoughts, and creates momentum. Here's how to achieve it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Achieve Goal Alignment to Set Yourself Up for Success\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Goal alignment increases your engagement, keeps you focused, discourages resistant thoughts, and creates momentum. Here's how to achieve it.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-05T20:44:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-03T19:54:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/goal-alignment.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"Achieve Goal Alignment to Set Yourself Up for Success\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-05T20:44:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-03T19:54:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/\"},\"wordCount\":598,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/goal-alignment.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Career\",\"Motivation\",\"Self-Improvement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/\",\"name\":\"Achieve Goal Alignment to Set Yourself Up for Success - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/goal-alignment.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-05T20:44:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-03T19:54:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"Goal alignment increases your engagement, keeps you focused, discourages resistant thoughts, and creates momentum. Here's how to achieve it.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/goal-alignment.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/goal-alignment.jpg\",\"width\":750,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Achieve Goal Alignment to Set Yourself Up for Success\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.\",\"sameAs\":[\"rina@shortform.com\"],\"award\":[\"Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)\",\"Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)\",\"Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)\",\"Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"History\",\"Theology\",\"Government\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Achieve Goal Alignment to Set Yourself Up for Success - Shortform Books","description":"Goal alignment increases your engagement, keeps you focused, discourages resistant thoughts, and creates momentum. Here's how to achieve it.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Achieve Goal Alignment to Set Yourself Up for Success","og_description":"Goal alignment increases your engagement, keeps you focused, discourages resistant thoughts, and creates momentum. Here's how to achieve it.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2022-03-05T20:44:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-03T19:54:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":370,"url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/goal-alignment.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elizabeth Whitworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Whitworth","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/"},"author":{"name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13"},"headline":"Achieve Goal Alignment to Set Yourself Up for Success","datePublished":"2022-03-05T20:44:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-03T19:54:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/"},"wordCount":598,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/goal-alignment.jpg","keywords":["The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success"],"articleSection":["Career","Motivation","Self-Improvement"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/","name":"Achieve Goal Alignment to Set Yourself Up for Success - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/goal-alignment.jpg","datePublished":"2022-03-05T20:44:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-03T19:54:53+00:00","description":"Goal alignment increases your engagement, keeps you focused, discourages resistant thoughts, and creates momentum. Here's how to achieve it.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/goal-alignment.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/goal-alignment.jpg","width":750,"height":370},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/goal-alignment\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Achieve Goal Alignment to Set Yourself Up for Success"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13","name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Whitworth"},"description":"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.","sameAs":["rina@shortform.com"],"award":["Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)","Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)","Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)","Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)"],"knowsAbout":["History","Theology","Government"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/goal-alignment.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61890"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145606,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61890\/revisions\/145606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}