When I ask people about their goals, very rarely do I get a straight answer. Some goals are private, and I respect that, we don't have to tell everybody everything. But mostly people don't "have" them. It seems like too much work.
That's too bad, because goals are a great help in really living this journey we call life.
Let me explain.
While most people might not have written goals (research suggests only 5% or less of people actually have written goals - the same 5% that outperform the rest of the 95% combined), with a little bit of probing with specific questions I can usually get to some of the things that people would like to experience in their lifetime. Things like being comfortably wealthy, finding love, being healthy, and making a genuine difference in the lives of others are common themes. So the goals are there. They just don't think of them as goals, or don't think of them at all.
Now, some people like to live in a very spontaneous way. They tell me that setting goals takes the fun and adventure out of life. That if they know where they will be in five years there are no more suprises. I completely understand. I love suprises, who doesn't? And setting goals does not in any way ruin suprises.
In fact, setting goals and being on the path to achieving them is the most amazing adventure that you could ever imagine!
Why? Because you take out so much of the stress that we feel from day to day living. Yes, there is a suprise at every corner, but is it always a pleasant surprise? I salute you if it is, and it shows that you are living according to universal laws, whether you realise it or not. But for most, pleasant surprises are few and far between. Day to day worries and stresses crowd the mind and dull the senses. There is no end in sight to this cloud of negativity that surrounds them. To them the world is a damned place! The only time they feel better is when they escape their presently painful reality by way of drink, sports, drugs, books, music, movies, clubs, friends, daydreaming, and many other avenues. Sound familiar?
Well, here is where the beauty of goals comes in.
Setting goals makes you take a sometimes brutally honest look at your situation, and compare it with the life you would really love to live.
Now, there may be soooooo much difference between the two realities that the very thought of trying to bridge the gap leaves you feeling like a failure even before you start. But there is always a way. And the way is to start small. You want to find out what one little thing you could do, the smallest thing ever, that would help you feel like you have taken a step in the right direction.
If taking out the garbage will make you start to feel like you are taking a step, no matter how small, to taking charge of your life, then do that. If getting a skipping rope will make you feel like you are taking one step toward improving your health, then do that. You don't have to sign up at a gym if you are not ready for it. Just go for a walk. If you want more money but have no clue how to get it, your next step would be to keep your eyes and ears open for clues on how to do that... or to go do some research.
Then, keep taking those steps.
Just keep moving.
Whatever you need to do to feel like you are moving in the right direction, do it. It really IS that simple. You will learn and find everything you need along the way. You will become the person you need to be to reach your ideal as long as you keep learning and moving forward.
If you continue, within a year you will be amazed at how far you have travelled. Within two years you will be moving with extraordinary momentum. Within ten you will be living a life that most people only allow themselves to dream about.
I want you to notice that I have not said that the journey will be completely smooth and constant. There will be bumps and falls and turnarounds. But as long as you always get back up and get moving again in the right direction, failure does not exist. Only learning experiences on the way to guaranteed success.
So, to come back to the reason why having goals and being on the path is the most amazing adventure you could ever imagine...
You can never know everything that will happen, if we could, there would be many more lottery winners. So there will always be surprises. What goals do, is allow you to believe in your dream. You believe in it because you are living it. You allow yourself to move into it more and more. And because you believe in your dream and you move forward constantly with the faith that it will be your reality... many of your day to day worries will simply melt away.
You fully enjoy all the pleasures of this adventurous journey called life because you already know how it is going to end.
Your life becomes like a great book or movie you heard about. One that you know everything works out at the end. That takes away the fear for the hero, yet you still want to dive into the story to live it's every twist and turn.
As has often been said - life is a journey, not a destination.
Figure out the end, the destination first, so you can then focus on the amazing journey you are taking to get there.
Charles
Copyright © Charles Begin
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