This story is part of our September 2025 issue. To subscribe, click here.

I have been with my current role for about a year, but one thing that has been driving me crazy is how development-focused the entire organization is. It is a continual topic that management speaks about ad nauseam, to the point where it feels disingenuous. Like, do they really want me to grow, or are these just steps that they want everyone to take regardless of their skill set?

I am all for goals or improving in your role, but I am not motivated by goals or growth or anything like that. I am happy where I am. While I do want to learn and grow (I mean, who doesn’t want to make more money), I don’t feel like I need a billion goals to be successful.

I’m self-employed, and one thing I miss about working for a company is the annual goal-setting process. Sure, I can (and do) have goals, but I have to set them myself and follow up with myself. It would be easier if I had a boss who would check in with me and say, “Hey, let’s go over your 2025 goals and see if you’re on target.”

But I also get it. If the goals aren’t meaningful to you, then they are just paperwork and extra tasks, and for what purpose? So let’s tackle this.

What do you really want?

You said you’re not motivated by goals or growth, and you are happy where you are. We should all be so blessed as to be satisfied where we are! And frankly, one of the problems businesses face is that many people want to be promoted, and the businesses cannot accommodate that. So your employer should be happy that you are happy to do the job you’re doing at the pay you’re receiving.

But, of course, you do want more money. The question is, how much do you want more money? Because there is a pretty good chance that if you went to your boss and said, “I’m super happy in this job. I’d like to stay in it for at least five years. I want to do my job well and go home. I’m not looking for growth, so can my goals just focus on doing my current job well?” that your boss would say, “Cool. That sounds awesome. I’ll adjust your goals.”

But I think you need to pay more attention to your phrase: “I don’t feel like I need a billion goals to be successful.”

Why you need goals

When we look at other people’s lives, it often looks like things just happen to them. They get a promotion out of nowhere. They have a successful business. Their yard looks amazing. It can all seem relatively passive. Things just happened to them, and if you’re lucky, things will happen to you, too.

And sure, sometimes things do just happen. Undeserving people get promoted, parents leave fully functioning businesses to their lazy pants kids, and people marry a spouse who takes care of the yard for them.

But for you (and most people), that’s not happening. To achieve success, you need clear goals.

You don’t need a billion goals. You need a few goals that will help you achieve your dreams. Without these goals, you’re very unlikely to achieve success that results in anything more than a cost-of-living raise once a year.

The world of work changes rapidly. If you are content to sit behind your desk and do the same thing every day, you’ll be left behind. If the business you work for needs to reduce headcount, the person who announced they didn’t want to learn anything new is going to be the first one out the door.

You must continually learn to stay up to date. And learning is highly grounded in goals.

Talk with your boss

Your company loves setting goals, but many of them may be ineffective. A goal set to meet a goal-setting quota means nothing if the goals don’t help employees succeed and the business grow.

So sit down with your boss and say, “I really love my job! I’m not looking for a promotion, but I do want to do the best I possibly can in this job. Can we revise my goals so that they focus on things that will help me be successful in this job?”

If your boss presents you with a goal that doesn’t seem to relate to your job, ask why. Perhaps they want everyone to be cross-trained, or the boss thinks your Excel skills are lacking. There may be an excellent reason why your boss wants you to take a communication skills class. Ask!

But don’t abandon goals because you think there are too many. Without goals, you’ll be unlikely to continue being successful in this job, let alone earn more money in the future.

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