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Do you dream of being the best? Perhaps you want to be #1 in your department, company, or sector? Even without these goals, you probably desire to be good, really good, at what you do. Psychology has long argued that one of the most important intrinsic motivations for humans is ‘mastery’ - the drive to become great at something, and to express that greatness to others. This needn’t be in an arrogant or over-inflated fashion. ‘Mastery’ is about learning how to do something really well, and to have the chance to acquire elevated skills, experience and knowledge. Let’s also acknowledge just how enjoyable being good at something is. That feeling you get when you finally work out how to play guitar, present to a room full of industry leaders, or ride a motorbike with flair - bliss. No wonder that research from Gallup tells us that those of us who get to use our innate strengths on a regular basis report being happier, more hopeful, and more productive. So with this in mind, we should all start setting ourselves bigger and better goals right? Wrong. By definition, goals are fixed points. You set the goal, work hard to achieve it, and then it’s done. Nothing wrong with this. Except it’s not how the best tend to think and work. This week I’ve had the privilege of working with the senior leadership team of one the best hotels in the world. Objectively, Claridge’s can call itself the best hotel in London, and even the UK. It can also point to the fact that on the international scene, it is the highest ranking London and UK-based hotel. This is according to the industry respected ‘World’s 50 Best Hotels’ assessment - you can see for yourself here: World’s 50 Best. You might think that when you’re already the best, there’s not much left to do. Keep doing what you’re doing and you keep being the best. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reason why Claridge’s became the best, and continues to be so, is precisely because it doesn’t settle. One term which the team and I reflected on a lot this week was this: BETTERMENT When they first started using it, I wasn’t even sure it was a real word. Turns out I was wrong. ‘Betterment’ is a more elegant way of saying ‘improvement.’ So for two days we worked hard on the business of betterment. Betterment means that you are constantly thinking about how things could be even better than they already are. Betterment means that, even when you are the best, you are open to exciting and innovative partnerships - like the Claridge’s and Dante collaboration which combines New York energy with London elegance to the delight of the clientele - old and new. Looking back on the experience, it struck me that this is why the best don’t set goals - they pursue greatness. Of course, to achieve greatness you need to have some actual goals. The point I’m making is that achieving yours goals isn’t the end of becoming the best. Rather, they’re a by-product of pursuing greatness… …a consequence of committing to mastery… …the natural outcome of believing in betterment. So whatever you’re pursuing this week, allow me to encourage you to worry less about the goals you’re setting… …and focus more on the mindset that sets you up for success. If you believe in betterment, you’ll never settle. You’ll embrace the idea that there is always more to learn, new levels of mastery to reach, and that greatness is a process you experience, not a fixed point or event you somehow arrive at. And when you believe in betterment, you start to realise that you don’t have to obsess over everyone else’s opinion. You also don’t have to tie your sense of self-worth or happiness to hitting a target. Becuase the target was never the point - betterment was. And that’s a never-ending pursuit we all get to enjoy. Go well Ben x PS - before you go, a request. If you find Human Thoughts helpful, why not recommend it to people in your network? My target for this year is to take this from reaching hundreds to reaching thousands. Want to help me do this? All people need to sign up is this link - www.humantalk.co.uk/newsletter Thank you x
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