Hey there, welcome to the second episode on my series on habits. In the last episode, we explored a bit about habits and goals. And, we had a sutra(thread) – goals first and habit second. That’s why today is all about goals. In this episode, we will explore the following topics.
- What are goals and where they come from?
- Are goals really necessary?
- Setting goals for a dream life.
Now, before we begin let’s ponder on the these quick questions. Yeah, these kinds of weird questions will be all over the series. Get used to it.
- What is the most important goal for you?
- What do you think the “Goal” actually is?
- Can goal evolve over time?
What are goals and where they come from?
Let’s take a very common goal and dissect it – My goal is to lose/gain 5 kilos. One obvious thing is, we’re talking about a future scenario. Losing or gaining a “five kilo weight” has not yet happened. However we’re planning a future scenario where that losing or gaining a weight will have happened. What it means is, goals are always a future scenario projected by our mind. It might happen or we might forget that we even had a goal.
Second obvious thing is, goals are always related to growth. And for most of us, goals and growth convey almost the same meaning. And it makes perfect sense too. If we’re projecting a possible future scenario then why make it worse, right? Nobody possibly goes, “I want to get a diabetes by the end of this year”. So, goals are a future scenario where we’re in a lot better condition than the present. Now, you might be thinking, so what? everyone knows this. Really? are you sure? If we really understood what goals are then why would we set such menial goals? And worse, why would anyone forget about their own goals? I know it’s weird, and we’ll touch on this topic later on the post. For now, let’s look at where do these goals come from.
It’s easy, outside. Believe it or not, our goals are merely a byproduct of our perception of the world. Based on how we see the world, we set our goals. For example, five years back you had very different goals compared to the present because, you had a slightly different perspective of the world. The people around you were of a certain quality, your needs was of a certain nature, and accordingly your goals was of a certain kind. Well, if goals are the byproduct of our perspective then where does the perspective come from? I think perspective is formed over time. Based on our upbringing, friends, and literally every life situations, perspective forms and evolves. And that evolving perspective in-turns affect the goals. Thus, goals are always evolving. As we learn more about the world, our goals keeps shifting and evolving slowly.
Are goals really necessary?
Let’s look at this question more sensibly. We all beings have desires. Desires to be someone, be somewhere, and have something. What do you think the difference between a goal and a desire is? In my opinion, desire is more associated with our feelings, our emotions thus it’s more juicy, more imaginative, and more subtle. Goals on the other hand is specific, logical, and easy to take action. To make our desire manifest into the world, we need to act. We need to invest a certain amount of energy into it. And, I think goal is that action-plan which helps us manifest our desires. Basically a blueprint for us which shows where and how to invest our energies. For example, my desire is to be a confident individual, and to be confident I have innumerable ways. I can adjust my physique to look a certain way, organise my finance to have more freedom, sharpen my skills, and many more. Now, I can have goals in each of those “areas” or “ways”. Like, “I want to lose five kilos” is a goal which fuels my desire to be more confident. “I need to save fifty grands” is another goal.
Having a goal gives us a sense of direction to move forward. We’re not really moving forward, backward, or sideways for that matter. We’re cultivating or manifesting those desires in and around us. However, goals help us create this imaginary destination and a path to follow to reach that destination. And I’ve often noticed, it’s much more easy for the mind to comprehend this notion of goals. Maybe because the goals are very logical and clear projection of mind. So, goals give us a sense of clarity and direction, and I think it’s better to have this than doing nothing at all.
Setting goals for dream life
Now, it’s time to revisit that weirdness about our goals. We often make new goals and achieve only few of them. Our minds are full of these little destination to be, but, we’re always after that next big and juicy goal. Thinking that will surely gonna make my life happy. I don’t think anyone has ever reached that state by chasing after menial goals. Rather than making these little goals which we so easily skip and even forget most of the time, why not combine them? A very big goal which includes every aspect of your life. Sounds dreamy? well, let’s be dreamy then.
Design your dreamy day
Get comfy, grab a cup of coffee or tea, do a quick breathing exercise, and grab your notebook. Now, let’s start jotting down your dreamy day. Be specific and as detailed as possible. You can write down as a paragraph or bullet points. If you need to close your eyes to day-dream, feel free to do so. From how you’d wake up, what activities you’ll do, and how will you behave with others, write everything down. Also, try to include your choice of career and how it’d fit into your day. Repeat all these for your dreamy weekend too. But, be 100% clear that, it is about YOUR day, not about someone else’s. You can’t expect them to change. It’s about how you’d behave with others not the other way around. Let the people around you do whatever they want, just imagine how would you react to them in the most ideal way. Also, situations could be anything, just include how your inner situation should be.
After you’re done you’ll have a pretty detailed day of your dreamy life. Now, turn this one big dreamy life into a short-term, mid-term, and a long-term goal. This step is necessary because we humans like to dream pretty big and big step does not happen overnight. Break those idea of dreamy life into levels. For example, if your dreamy life includes being financially free, then jot down what would be the ideal short-term goal. Maybe landing a job or getting your first 5 clients. Do this for every aspect of life. Your relationships, financial situation, knowledge, work, health, and every damn thing about you needs to be included. Do not focus too much on only few aspects, you need to give equal priority to every aspect of who you are.
A dreamy goal
A goal is worth pursing only if it can touch every aspect of who you are. Once your dreamy day is ready and broken down into short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals, it’s time to act. The first step of taking action is to make sure you have a clear understanding of your goal. Take a short-term goal, be as clear about it as possible, and make it the one and only goal in your life. Forget about the mid and long-term goals as they are irrelevant today. But, the short-term goal is very near, with little effort you can start living that dreamy life. So, let’s start making things happen. How? well, a new post is on your way to help you with that. Until then, have a great day.
So articulate 👍🏽