The Myth of the Common Goal

It’s ignorant to assume a shared objective means shared motivation.

Your purpose is unique. So is everyone else’s. Even when people appear aligned, their reasons for being there are not identical—and they never will be.

Why does this matter?
Because what’s often called a “common goal” is really a collection of individual, self-serving aims. At best, there is a shared trajectory—not a pure, unified intention. Expecting otherwise creates unnecessary friction and frustration.

When you assume alignment of motive, you misread resistance, misjudge behavior, and personalize conflict that was never personal to begin with.

Awareness recalibrates expectation. People will pull in different directions. They will prioritize differently. They will move at different speeds. This isn’t dysfunction—it’s reality.

Lead, work, and collaborate with clarity—not illusion—and frustration loses its grip.

“Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty…”
— Marcus Aurelius