☑️ Anti-Goals (#55)

I started establishing “Anti-Goals” for all new projects. Everything changed.

Here’s how it works: the concept is grounded in inversion—a foundational mental model that says:

Inversion was made famous by one quote:

“All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I’ll never go there." - Charlie Munger

With traditional goals, we envision the optimal outcome. We then build systems that will—hopefully—lead to that outcome.

This is important and still necessary—but it’s incomplete. Anti-goals leverage inversion to complete the picture.

I think of anti-goals as being about avoiding the "Pyrrhic victory”—a victory that takes such a terrible toll on the victor that it might has well have been a defeat.

My friend Shaan Puri elaborates:

"Your dream was to be a musician. And you did it! But while touring the world, you gain weight, get addicted to drugs, and your kids don’t recognize you. You won the battle but lost the war."

Anti-goals are the key to avoiding these outcomes. Ok, so how do you establish anti-goals?

My generalized process involves four steps:

1. Choose Your Arena

2. Establish Traditional Goals

3. Invert the Problem

4. Establish Anti-Goals

Let’s walk through each step:

1️⃣ Choose Your Arena

The arena is the "project" you’re going to be working on. A few broad categories:

👉🏼 Personal

👉🏼 Work

👉🏼 Health

Your arena should be a specific project under a larger category. It’s the place where you’re looking for achievement, progress, or growth.

2️⃣ Establish Traditional Goals

These are your standard goals—the desired outcomes from the chosen arena.

A few examples:

👉🏼 Run a 6-min mile

👉🏼 Build a 100,000 sub newsletter

👉🏼 Promotion to VP

👉🏼 Create a top-25 podcast

Clear, big picture traditional goals are important.

3️⃣ Invert the Problem

Ask and answer a few questions. In the pursuit of these goals:

👉🏼 What’s the worst possible outcome?

👉🏼 What systems would lead to that?

👉🏼 What daily actions would I regret?

4️⃣ Establish Anti-Goals

Now work backwards to establish your anti-goals. Expanding on a James Clear analogy:

Awareness keeps you on smooth waters. It can be a bit confusing in the abstract, so let’s look at a recent example from my own life:

The Arena: Physical Fitness

Traditional Goals:

👉🏼 Run a 6-minute mile

👉🏼 Under 8% bodyfat

👉🏼 Deadlift 500 pounds

Perhaps overly-ambitious at 31, but I think doable if I’m dedicated!

Invert the Problem:

👉🏼 What does the worst possible outcome look like?

• Letting it consume my entire life!

• Constantly stressing about what workouts to do and about what foods to eat.

• Working out for 3 hours per day when I want to spend time with my family and friends.

👉🏼 Breaking it down, what actions or systems would lead to that worst possible outcome?

• Trying to do everything myself!

• Managing my own research on workouts and food.

• Trying to write, track, and manage my own workout and diet plan.

• Not scheduling fixed windows for workouts.

Establish Anti-Goals:

1. Never think about workouts. Hire a trainer to write workout programs.

2. Never think about diet. Buy pre-prepared healthy meals.

3. Never let workouts consume my life. Schedule 90-minute blocks at the same time every AM as my workout window.

My fitness project now has a complete picture:

Traditional Goals:

👉🏼 Run a 6-minute mile

👉🏼 Under 8% bodyfat

👉🏼 Deadlift 500 pounds

Anti-Goals:

👉🏼 Never think about workouts—hire trainer.

👉🏼 Never think about diet—buy meals.

👉🏼 Never let workouts consume life—schedule blocks.

In his original blog post, Andrew Wilkinson has a great example of using anti-goals to design his work.

He wanted to pursue success and wealth creation, but not at the expense of his peace of mind.

Establishing anti-goals to sit alongside his goals allowed him to do both.

To summarize the Anti-Goal Framework:

1. Choose Your Arena

2. Establish Traditional Goals

3. Invert the Problem

4. Establish Anti-Goals

So as you take on your next project, establish anti-goals to sit alongside your traditional goals.

Win the battle AND the war!

•••

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☑️ Anti-Goals (#55)

To summarize the Anti-Goal Framework:

Win the battle AND the war!

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