The Facebook founder is spot on about setting himself something to achieve every year (however weird and wonderful), writes personal goal-convert Josephine Fairley. Just don't feel you have to learn Mandarin...

Last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wowed the world by speaking Mandarin during a live Q&A in Beijing. He spoke for 30 minutes in the Chinese language, even managing to crack jokes.

Despite whispers that his grasp of the language was a little basic, one observer commented, 'What is the Mandarin for "wow"...?'

It was seemingly the fruition of a personal goal. Zuckerberg sets himself one every year and, in 2010, it was to learn the Chinese language.

How savvy is that, from a global business perspective? I have several friends who've encouraged their kids to learn Mandarin rather than French, looking to the East as the land of opportunities. (And you can bet your bottom dollar that it's easier to learn Mandarin when you're 11 than when you're 30, as Zuckerberg is).

Previous goals have been perhaps less time-consuming, but pursued by Zuckerberg with equal determination. There was the year he vowed to wear a tie every day for a year (2009).

(Though the big question from my point of view would be: if you're a billionaire like Zuckerberg, why would you bother? You're always going to be the most powerful person in the room, so what difference is a thin strip of even the most expensive Hermes silk going to make to your power base?)

2011 was the year he vowed only to eat meat during that year that he'd slaughtered himself, claiming that it would deepen his appreciation of food if he understood more about that process - as a vegetarian, I wasn't over the moon when he proclaimed on Facebook that he'd killed a goat and a pig.
(Though if every meat-eater took such a vow, you can bet there'd be a lot more of us veggies on the planet.)

In 2012, Zuckerberg promised to spend some time coding - to return to his roots. And in 2013, he wanted to meet a new person, outside Facebook, daily.

Back of the net - Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: AP

This year, he set himself a 'gratitude' goal: to write a thank-you note every single day. Which was pretty much in line with my own personal goal for 2014, as it happens. I have a 'Gratitude' list on my phone, and every Sunday afternoon I sit in my shed and send thank-you cards to everyone on the Wunderlist: ping after satisfying ping, as the pile of creamy envelopes grows.

What's more, (sad sap that I am) I decide exactly which from my stash of sexy (as in: bought in the actual Trafalgar Square Post Office) stamps is most likely to put a smile on the face of the recipient. And I'm absolutely sure that Zuckerberg gets as much satisfaction out of his thank-you notes as I do - a deep sense of appreciation for other people's kindness and generosity. A sense of 'enough', in a world which is all about 'more, more, more.'

It's also shown me that personal goals don't have to be overly ambitious (learning a new language is a stretch too far). I did once set myself the 'year goal' of learning Spanish, finding that it became more, not less, fiendish as the months went on. I can just about order a tortilla, or ask the price of a secondhand pillowcase in a Madrid flea market. But in general it was an epic fail.

I certainly think stretching yourself mentally is vital, if we are to keep feeling alive and alert. So that's why I heartily recommend taking a leaf out of Zuckerberg's book and setting yourself an annual challenge.

Start small. One year, when I was working every day in the organic bakery I'd opened in my home town, I set myself the challenge of learning as many customers' names as I possibly could. Even though we sold the business a while back, I can still walk down the street greeting people by name: "Hello, Mrs. Flippance. Hello, Pru."

I like to think that knowing hundreds of individuals' names (and using them) in such an impersonal world, helps to keep our community knitted together that little bit more.

I think the key is to be realistic with goals. The sense of failure (see also: my Spanish) can be a downer, diminishing rather than enhancing your sense of self-worth. Push yourself just that bit further than you think you can possibly be stretched, but don't look to a goal to 'reinvent' yourself, necessarily - because just like massive crash-diet weight loss programmes, they can be doomed to failure and recidivism.

I also really love Arianna Huffington's wisdom on the subject of goals. (As in many other areas.) When I heard her speak recently, she talked about how another way to mentally complete a project is simply to give it up.

The mother of two highly-skilled skiing daughters, she'd always promised herself that one day, she'd learn to tackle the slopes incredibly well herself.

Then the realisation struck: it was never going to happen. And, even more importantly, she could stop beating up on herself for the fact it hadn't happened and be content with curling up in front of a crackling fire with a cup of steaming hot cocoa, while her daughters slalom-ed the day away.

I've been there, too. Every New Year Eve for years I promised that THIS would be the 1st January when I threw myself in the English Channel alongside my husband and a fellow band of swimmers to raise money for the RNLI. Every New Year's day - often because of 'a nasty cough', or 'an incipient cold' - I wimped out.

Then last year I gave up pretending it was ever going to happen, made a donation to the RNLI - and, instead, cheered guiltlessly from the beach.

Goals are great. And if the Mandarin is going fabulously, stick with it. But if not? Heed Arianna's words: sometimes giving up on a goal can be equally satisfying.