Today's
Meditation:
Goals
are important to us if for nothing else in order to
provide us with a sense of direction. Many of us
allow other people to define our goals for us--quotas at
work, assignments due in two weeks, deadlines, contracts
and the like. But the goals that we set for
ourselves can be the most important for us, as they allow
us to move in directions that we wouldn't pursue if we
didn't take the time and make the effort to set goals.
Of course, goals have to be realistic if they're going to
be useful to us. If we set a goal of earning a
million dollars by Friday and we don't own a major retail
chain, we're more than likely going to be quite
disappointed. If we set a goal of setting aside
three thousand dollars in savings over the next twelve
months, we probably have a much better chance of reaching
our goal.
Goals also need to be somewhat specific. My goal of
becoming "a better person" over the next year
could be very difficult to accomplish because of the
abstract meaning of "better," and the
difficulties in measuring my progress. My goal of
performing thirty unsolicited good deeds over the next six
months, though, is something that I can measure and gauge
my progress towards. Our goals can help us to
improve our lives; thus, they're extremely important for
us not just to create, but to consider carefully as to
whether or not they're worth our while and will serve us
well in our lives.
If we want to add direction to our lives, we need
goals. But we also need to keep in mind that goals
must be not just flexible, but even disposable when they
no longer serve us well. And if we want to make sure
that we can actually achieve them, we need to make sure
that they're realistic. Our goals can be incredibly
valuable to us, so we must make them an important part of
our lives.
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