If you don't know specifically where you're going, then you'll never get there. And if you don't set the bar high enough, you'll never live up to your potential.
如果你不明确该往哪走，那你永远不会到达目的地。如果你不把界限设高些，你永远不会爆发所有的潜力。

This is accepted common sense in the business world and it's reinforced by research. Like that study done on the Harvard Business School class you may have heard of, in which only 3% of the graduating students wrote down clear goals. Twenty years later, those 3% were worth 10 times the worth of the rest of the class combined. Compelling, right?
在商界这是大家都认为理所当然的事，而且经过研究，这个观念被加强。就像你可能听过的在哈佛商学院某班做的研究一样，在研究中，只有3%的毕业生写下了清晰的目标。20年后，这3%学生的身价是班中剩下所有学生的身价总和的10倍。很有说服力是吧？

It would be if it were true. But it isn't. That study doesn't exist. It's pure urban myth.We might debate which goals to set, or how to set them, but who would debate whether to set goals at all?
如果这件事存在的话确实是很有说服力，但事实却不是这样。这个研究根本不存在，只是“都市神话”而已。我们或许会讨论建立何种目标，或如何建立它们，但谁会讨论要不要设立目标呢？

I'd like to.
我会。

When we set goals, we're taught to make them specific and measurable. But it turns out that those characteristics are precisely the reasons goals can backfire. A specific, measurable goal drives behavior that's narrowly focused and often leads to either cheating or myopia.
当我们设立目标时，经常被告知目标要明确可以度量。但结果说明正是目标的这些特性会让结果适得其反。一个精确、可度量的目标限制了行为，也会导致欺骗或短视。

So what can you do in the absence of goals? I want to propose one: Instead of identifying goals, consider identifying areas of focus.
所以在没有目标的情况下你应该做什么呢？我想提出一条建议：明确目标范围而不是具体的目标。

A goal defines an outcome you want to achieve; an area of focus establishes activities you want to spend your time doing. A goal is a result; an area of focus is a path. A goal points to a future you intend to reach; an area of focus settles you into the present.
目标定义了你想要获得的结果，目标范围明确了你想要花时间做的事。目标是结果；目标范围是过程。目标指出了你想要得到的未来；目标范围让你把握现在。

How do you do it? It's simple: identify the things you want to spend your time doing — or the things that you and your manager decide are the most valuable use of your time — and spend your time doing those things. The rest takes care of itself.
那你该如何做呢？很简单：明确你想花时间做的事——或者你和经理觉得对你最有价值的事——然后花时间完成它们。其他的自会有解决之道。

And in my experience, not only will you achieve at least as much as you would have if you had set goals, but you'll enjoy the process far more, avoiding unnecessary stress and temptation.
而且据我的经验，当你用这种方法设立目标后你不只会达成目标，也会更享受过程，并避免不必要的压力和诱惑。