Why I Was Wrong About Goals: Direction, Destination, and the Both/And of Healthy Leadership

In this episode, Alan Briggs does something he's never done before — he opens by admitting he was wrong. For years as a leadership coach, Alan over-emphasized habits and healthy rhythms while under-selling the power of big, audacious goals. He watched too many leaders get crushed by massive targets they never hit, and he overcorrected. Now he's setting the record straight.

The truth is, direction and destination aren't in competition. They need each other. Habits without a destination drift into maintenance. Big goals without daily rhythms become wishful thinking. The mature leader holds the tension between both — and that tension is exactly what this episode is about.

Alan shares the personal story behind his upcoming trip to Machu Picchu — a promise made at his grandfather's memorial — and how that destination is anchoring his daily training and health habits right now. He also walks through what thought leaders like James Clear, Jim Collins, Angela Duckworth, and Benjamin Hardy all say on both sides of this conversation, and why they're ultimately pointing toward the same conclusion.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• Why Alan swung the pendulum too far toward habits early in his coaching career — and what changed
• The "both/and" framework: how direction (daily habits) and destination (big stretch goals) work together
• Alan's Machu Picchu story and why a promise at his grandfather's memorial is driving his health right now
• What James Clear, Jim Collins, Angela Duckworth, and Benjamin Hardy all agree on
• Jim Collins' bullets and cannonballs concept and how to apply it to your leadership
• The "We are going to _____ by _____ because _____" formula for naming your moonshot goal
• Why measuring lead indicators (not just outcomes) is the key to real progress
• How the Right Side Up Journal connects big goals to daily habits in one place
• The boat and oars analogy — and what it costs you when only one oar is in the water

Reflection Questions:

• What big goal have you been avoiding naming because you're not sure you can hit it?
• Are your current daily habits actually moving you toward a destination — or just maintaining where you are?
• Where have you been choosing between healthy and high impact, when you could be pursuing both?

Resources Mentioned:

• Atomic Habits — James Clear
• Grit — Angela Duckworth
• 10X Is Easier Than 2X — Dr. Benjamin Hardy & Dan Sullivan
• Good to Great — Jim Collins
• Right Side Up Journal — available on Amazon

Want more? Visit h2leadership.com for coaching, resources, and tools to help you lead well.