Maybe you’ve struggled to achieve your goals because you haven’t tried working backwards. Our society encourages, imposes, and arguably forces linear thinking upon us from an early age. What if another methodology were to work for you?

Step One: Values-to-Goals

Differentiating between values and goals can be difficult. Values are concepts that we as individuals consider important, while goals are tangible ideals for our lives that we work towards on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. Determining and identifying within yourself goals which reflect your values is a life-long process, and the result is always changing.

Values aren’t always, and don’t have to be, complex. But neither do they have to be simple. The beauty of self-determination, a spiritual and social freedom we have only just begun to explore as a species, is that it’s up to what it is that you value.

The following chart is an example of how I articulate my values into my “bigger picture” goals.

I VOW TO…	Health	Love	Earth
Individually	• stay hydrated • eat foods with a variety of nutrients • move my body • stay rested	• give it my best effort • forgive myself for my shortcomings	• keep my environment clean • be sustainable • minimize waste • find my inner peace in and with nature
Locally/Regionally	• encourage and support others in their health journeys • provide resources where and when I can	• celebrate others’ achievements • be understanding and compassionate when others make mistakes	• teach others how to be sustainable and clean their environment • provide others with opportunities to put those teachings into practice • share in those moments of peace in our nature together
Globally	• advocate for continual growth • make decisions that lead to equitable access to knowledge and opportunity	• maintain an open mind and consider all and alternative perspectives • practice and employ mercy to those whose actions have caused harm	• be collaborative with all people, including those whose opinions and values differ from mine • utilize that collaboration to protect our planet • continue to explore ways to collaborate for the earth

Step Two: Mind Maps

What does your mind look like? I think mine’s like a roller coaster, in that the progression seems linear; but a pile of spaghetti, in that it’s all tangled up; and yet my attention is focused on everything surrounding me, trying to fathom the bigger picture that is the bowl of spaghetti, from the rollercoaster ride.

Pete described his mind as looking like tree branches, where every thought leads into a myriad of other thoughts.

Another concept that’s been described to me is a house of boxes. The day-to-day is self-evident, like each kitchen cabinet, bedroom drawer, and office desk are their own boxes, but all the other concepts and ideas beyond the day to day are semi-neatly organized into boxes in the attic and basement and the shed outside.

What does your mind look like? One way I like to fathom this concept is through a Mind Map. Here’s an example of how to create a mind map using how I imagine Princess Mango thinks.

Step Three: Work Backwards

Once you know the final result of something you’d like to achieve, start piecing out what steps would be required to get there, in a reverse chronological order. Let’s use Mango as an example.

If her goal is to bathe until she pukes in the sun one morning, she must go through the following though process: in order to puke, I must have eaten food. In order to have eaten food, I must wait until mom wakes up. But in order to puke while laying in the sun, I have to wake up mom before the sun goes away from the spot I’d like to puke at, which is approximately eleven AM. This means if mom does not wake up on her own by 9:30 AM, I will scream at her until she does, so that I have ample time to eat and bathe and then puke in the sunlight.

Concluded, the order of tasks in order to accomplish her goals is: wake, scream until mom is awake, eat as though she is starving me, bask in the sun, bathe myself until I puke.

Impeccable logic.

Achieve Your Goals by Working Backwards

So, maybe I’m not quite working backwards, but I’m certainly not progressing linearly. I only know the past, and the present may be unclear, but to keep moving towards the future I have to trust that my values will guide me towards my goals.

Everyone has very different values, I’d love to learn about yours! Please let me know what they are and how they correlate to your goals in the comments. Thanks for reading!