If you have read my previous post about the importance of making decisions based on your inner compass and rewarding yourself according to your ultimate goals, probably one question that popped up in your head - why I chose to go to the University to get my Master's degree instead of just start pursuing my entrepreneurial path? If you have your ultimate goal or craving, you just should go for it, right?
And you are absolutely right, but not all is that simple. Very often we know where we want go (our ultimate goal), but we don't know how to get there. And usually instead of a direct road toward your goal, there is a very winding, yet very exciting path, as it occurred with me.
In the book "Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned" by Kenneth O. Stanley and Joel Lehman (love this book!), the authors describe a fascinating experiment, where researchers programmed a simulated robot using Artificial Intelligence to navigate a maze. The results of this experiment clearly illustrate that moving blindly toward your ultimate goal could be not the best approach.
The experiment aimed to compare two different approaches: goal-based search, when you keep in mind specific goal to pursue, and novelty search - when you are open minded, and not limited by your specific goal.
In the novelty search approach, the robot was programmed to explore the most novel behaviors without any specific goal in mind. It would try new behaviors and further explore the ones that were most different from what it had tried before. Surprisingly, this approach consistently led to the robot discovering behaviors that allowed it to navigate through the entire maze, even though solving the maze was never explicitly set as an ultimate goal.
On the other hand, the goal-based search approach focused on rewarding behaviors that brought the robot closer to the goal. The closer the robot got to the goal, the better the behavior was considered. One might expect this approach to be more effective in solving the maze, but the results proved otherwise. Out of 40 trials, the goal-based search only succeeded in finding a solution three times, while the novelty search approach succeeded 39 times.
The authors explain that the goal-based approach often leads to deception, especially when obstacles like walls block the direct path to the goal. The robot, driven by the goal, would crash into the closest wall in the direction of the goal because getting closer to the wall meant getting closer to the goal. However, to truly solve the maze, the robot would need to move away from the wall and explore alternative paths, which the goal-based search discourages.
Probably that is the reason why we often feel that we are banging our heads against a wall and feeling stuck, and cannot achieve set goal. Perhaps, this is a sign to look around and search for alternative options?..
This experiment from the book illustrates that moving blindly toward an ultimate goal may not always be the best approach. Instead, it is essential to explore and discover "stepping stones" along the way. Stepping stones are intermediate milestones or achievements that open up new possibilities and guide you toward your ultimate goal.
In my case, both degrees were stepping stones for me toward my ultimate goal. At that point (that pivotal morning, discussed in the previous post), I felt that I did not know the direct path toward my goal, and I needed to find it. During my first Master's studies, I explored my next stepping stone - Artificial Intelligence. This field fascinated me and I realized that it could be a crucial component in my future entrepreneurial endeavors.
Also, during my studies I took a course on the financial aspects of business leadership (kind of introductory course). This revealed a gap in my knowledge and sparked my interest to delve deeper into this field. That's when I discovered my next stepping stone - an Entrepreneurial MBA. This program provided me with the business acumen I needed to take the next step toward my ultimate goal.
That is the reason why you always have to keep exploring, and be open to new discoveries, which could guide you forward toward your ultimate goal. Embracing exploration and being receptive to stepping stones along the way can lead you to unexpected paths that ultimately bring you closer to your dreams.
