Why More Goals Won’t Save You (and Why Self-Trust Is What You Actually Need)
When ambitious entrepreneurs feel stuck, the default response is usually: “I must need bigger goals.”
I'll even go a step further.
Even if you are not an entrepreneur and you are just an ambitious person or maybe a freelancer - I bet that every time you felt like you hit a roadblock - you might have thought "Oh, I need to update the goal".
I say this because, like always - I myself have been guilty of this one too.
This is a classical scenario - at least in my eyes.
We set more revenue targets, more milestones, more KPIs.
We double down on “10-year visions” or “North Star metrics.”
But then here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Most people aren’t failing because they don’t have enough goals.
Let's be honest - when was the last time you heard someone was failing because they had just a handful of goals and not plenty of them?
The truth is, they’re failing because they don’t trust themselves enough to move forward without the safety net of certainty.
Again - I'm guilty of this myself.
Why More Goals Don’t Equal More Progress
Think about this for a second:
Goals are often a socially acceptable way of outsourcing clarity.
Won't you agree?
They give you something to chase, but they don’t necessarily anchor you in WHO YOU (TRULY) ARE.
A $10m revenue target doesn’t fix the fear of being misunderstood.
A 90-day sprint plan doesn’t quiet the voice that says you’re not ready yet.
Scaling your team won’t silence the part of you that still feels like you’re carrying it all alone.
More zeros in the bank don’t erase the nights you lie awake asking if it’s all actually worth it.
Becoming “the expert” in your field doesn’t stop the moments you secretly doubt your own voice.
A full calendar of clients won’t dissolve the emptiness of realizing you’ve built a business that doesn’t feel like you.
Public recognition won’t protect you from the quiet ache of not being truly seen by the people closest to you.
Hitting that “big goal” doesn’t guarantee fulfillment — it usually just unlocks the next cycle of pressure.
And this list can go on and on.
If you’re always moving the finish line, you’ll live in a constant loop of “not there yet.”
That’s not growth.
That’s addiction to striving.
And man, and if there's anything this world that we are living in loves more than anything - is making us believe (or better said - giving us the impression) that we are constantly lacking something or not quite there yet.
The Real Currency of Movement: Self-Trust
Now, let's talk about the thing that really moves the needle.
Self-trust.
Because you see - what gets you unstuck isn’t the next shiny objective - it’s your ability to trust yourself enough to act without a 100% guarantee of success.
I don't know if you've ever experienced this before - but maybe you'd recognise it anyway.
That moment when you are more concerned and focused on the actual DOING, the process, the activity, rather than the outcome, the result.
When you do it for the sake of the pleasure - not some monetary gains.
That's the kind of self-trust I am talking about here.
High performers who keep plateauing aren’t suffering from a lack of vision.
They’re suffering from a lack of inner permission.
It's self-trust that allows you to:
Move when the next step feels uncertain.
Say yes (or no) without waiting for external validation.
Hold the tension of “not knowing” without rushing to solve it with another plan.
This is why most people obsess over goal-setting frameworks.
They’re easier than cultivating self-trust.
A spreadsheet is comforting.
Inner alignment isn’t.
But if there's a place in life worth going to - is that place where you feel a bit of discomfort thinking about it.
Because that's where growth is.
Why Self-Trust Feels So Risky
Let’s be brutally honest: trusting yourself is terrifying.
It requires you to operate without proof, without guarantees, without permission slips.
You have to admit you don’t know exactly how things will play out. (especially in a society that feels like they always KNOW what you should do with your life)
You have to lean into experiments instead of perfection.
You have to risk being seen failing in public. (key component to any success btw)
That’s why many entrepreneurs stay busy setting goals.
It looks productive.
It gives you a dopamine hit - every time you cross something off the list.
It feels responsible.
But...
It’s just another mask for fear.
The Shift That Changes Everything
After studying so many successful entrepreneurs and leaders, here’s what I found and realized:
You don’t build clarity first and then act.
You act - and THEN clarity follows.
Clarity is not a prerequisite for trust.
Trust is the prerequisite for clarity.
When you stop obsessing about “where you’re going” and start leaning into “what feels aligned right now,” you begin to build the muscle of self-trust.
And that muscle compounds faster than any SMART goal ever will.
I'm speaking here from experience.
I am yet to have a clearer mind and vision of where I need to go - as the one I got from just trusting what I feel is right (inside me) rather than what I feel I should put on a list of goals - because that's what society is whispering in my ears that I should do.
Practical Ways to Build Self-Trust
Forget the 27-step goal frameworks.
The 'Ultimate/ Best/ Ultra/ Hidden' secret that you need.
At the end of the day, the work is much simpler - BUT, far more uncomfortable:
Make micro-commitments and keep them. Integrity with yourself is built in the smallest of promises - not the grandest of goals.
Act before you’re ready. Readiness is usually a disguise for perfectionism. Momentum is built in motion, not in waiting.
Detach your worth from the outcome. If you only trust yourself when things “work,” you’re not trusting yourself - you’re trusting results.
Learn to hold emotional tension. Most entrepreneurs collapse not because of a lack of opportunity, but because they can’t sit with uncertainty without numbing it through over-planning.
These aren’t “tactics”.
They’re disciplines.
The kind of disciplines you cultivate in private when nobody’s watching.
The Irony of Self-Trust
When you stop obsessing over goals and start cultivating trust, you actually achieve more.
No, seriously.
Not because you’re aiming harder, but because you’re finally moving from alignment instead of fear.
The person who breaks through plateaus is not the one with the biggest targets.
They’re the ones who look at the uncertainty and move forward anyway.
And in case you are still looking for the 'Ultimate/ Best/ Ultra/ Hidden' secret - here it is:
When you trust yourself - goals stop being cages and start being tools.
They’re no longer about proving something - they’re about expressing something.
And that changes everything.
Trust me.