1500 - 2000 / Daily Goals and Task Prioritization / Goal Achievement Steps / Reflect & Review / Rene Descartes

Universal 4-Step Method For Goal Achievement

By Effluo | Published November 22, 2021 | No Comments

Goal achievement has been studied and taught by many great minds of our time. When we look back at the great teachers and philosophers in our history, what can we learn from them on how to achieve goals?

Let us take a trip back in time and look at one of the great philosophers and his approach to achieving success. Many consider him to be the founder of modern philosophy, deductive reasoning, and algebraic geometry. This is a person who coined the term “I think, therefore I am”.

Rene Descartes lived in the early 1600s and was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist who, among many things, invented analytic geometry. In his book “Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One’s Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences” he devised a universal method of deductive reasoning and just a general approach to life. The universality of this method is truly genius and we will apply it here to goal achievement. The four steps of this method are:

(1) accept nothing as true unless it was proven beyond doubt
(2) divide problems into smaller parts
(3) solve problems by moving from simple to difficult
(4) recheck the reasoning

1 Think Big and Set Goals

The first was never to accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid precipitancy and prejudice, and to comprise nothing more in my judgement than what was presented to my mind so clearly and distinctly as to exclude all ground of doubt.

René Descartes

The first step of the method is to accept nothing as true unless you proved it beyond doubt. Examine your prejudices and beliefs, clearly differentiate belief from a fact. If a belief can be doubted, take steps to either prove it or disprove it.

When it comes to goal setting THINK BIG. It all starts there. People that achieved greatness are not smarter or better than the rest. They had the audacity to think big and reach for the big goals. What is the main hindrance to THINKING BIG? It is the self-imposed belief system that you are not good enough or not worthy.

Here are some self-imposed limitations that come to mind right away. I am… too old, too young, too poor, not smart enough, not educated enough, not healthy enough, do not have enough time … This list can continue on.

Descartes’s method teaches us not to accept these beliefs, but to test them, question them, and reach for the stars.

What beliefs do you have about yourself?
What limitations are keeping you from reaching your dreams?

2 Divide the Goals Into Achievable Steps

The second, to divide each of the difficulties under examination into as many parts as possible, and as might be necessary for its adequate solution.

René Descartes

If you are thinking big your goal will be big. The second step of the method is to divide these goals into their simplest parts.

How does this look in practice? Let’s say you set a goal to clean up the oceans of the world. Right away this may seem unachievable, and immediately so many thoughts of why you cannot do it will come to your mind. After going through the first step and analyzing these thoughts, you are ready to proceed with the second step. This means taking this problem and dividing it into simpler parts.

• Research the problem. What current solutions are in place?
• What improvements can be made to the current solutions?
• Understand the cause of ocean pollution. How can the cause be influenced?
• What steps can you take to influence the root cause of ocean pollution?
• Are there people working on the solution now?
• Are there corporations that currently support this movement?
• Can I get these on board to support my movement?
• What are the infrastructure needs?
• What are the budget requirements? …

Now, this big problem is turning into many very doable steps. There isn’t a problem or a goal that cannot be broken down into smaller steps. The smaller the step the more achievable it becomes.

3 Prioritize and Complete These Steps

The third, to conduct my thoughts in such order that, by commencing with objects the simplest and easiest to know, I might ascend by little and little, and, as it were, step by step, to the knowledge of the more complex; assigning in thought a certain order even to those objects which in their own nature do not stand in a relation of antecedence and sequence.

René Descartes

The third step of the method is to solve problems by moving from simple to difficult. It is important to understand that as the steps are broken down, you may not know if you listed and broke down the right steps. That is the beauty of this process. Begin with the simpler steps, they will lead you into the next steps. Do not think that you will be able to map out the whole journey perfectly, you still don’t know what you don’t know.

Descartes points out that step by step, ascending little by little from the known into the unknown you will see what step will be necessary to take at the next juncture. The beauty of this process is the fluidity of thinking. No longer do you need to plan out your journey precisely step by step and stick to it, you are able to move with your life adjusting your steps as needed towards the achievement of the goal.

4 Reflect and Review

And the last, in every case to make enumerations so complete and reviews so general, that I might be assured that nothing was omitted.

Descartes, René

The fourth and final step of the method is to recheck the reasoning and the steps. As you go on your journey to either solving a problem or achieving a goal, it is important to stop and check if you are still on the path that you want to be on. Ask questions such as
What went well?
What changes should be made going forward?

These are critical in ensuring that you are learning from your achievements and failures. Change and adapt as needed on the journey to goal achievement.

Summary

To sum up, Descartes’s method is universal in that it can be applied to problem-solving and to goal achievement. Applying this method to goal achievement is the best and most flexible way to make your dreams come true.

(1) Accept nothing as true unless you proved it beyond doubt = Think Big and Set Goals
(2) Divide problems into smaller parts = Divide the Goals Into Achievable Steps
(3) Solve problems by moving from simple to difficult = Prioritize and Complete These Steps
(4) Recheck the reasoning = Reflect and Review

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