"Excuse me Sir," Alice asks. "Could you tell me which road to take?"
Wisely, the caterpillar asks, "Where are you going?"
Somewhat troubled, Alice replies, "Oh, I don't know where I am going, Sir."
"Well", replied the caterpillar, "If you don't know where you are going, it really doesn't matter which road you take."
(Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol.)
Goals give you some direction, they help you to plan where you want to go, and which road you need to take to get there.
Many people make the mistake of setting themselves rigid goals and may be disappointed when life deals them a blow or the universe encourages them to change direction. It is important to take into account when setting and following your goals that you should remain flexible and be willing and able to change your goals according to the opportunities that life offers.
You need to plan your course carefully, put your goals out clearly to the universe, and then surrender and flow with the river of life and go with the flow. This means that you don't have to put effort to get where you want to go; you simply put out clearly to the universe where you would like to go, and then patiently and harmoniously follow the flow of the river of life until it takes you there. Sometimes you even have to change direction or go back on yourself before your reach your final destination as the river of life sometimes takes a winding course.
Sometimes it will be more beneficial for you and others if you change your direction as you take advantage of a new opportunity. The secret is to hold onto your goals lightly and be willing to change them if something more appropriate and satisfying comes along. In this way you maintain a balance between keeping your destination clearly in mind, and yet also enjoying all the beautiful scenes you encounter along the way.
It is important that you do not keep a strong attachment to your goals as this might restrict you from accomplishing them. If you have a lot of heavy emotions riding on whether you attain your goal, you will tend to work against yourself. Strong attachment to goals might cause you to sabotage yourself with fear of failure or fear of success or by linking your self esteem and self worth to achieving a specific objective. Your fear of not getting what you want may actually energise the idea of not getting it!
Besides giving you a rough plan to follow, goals also:
- Keep you motivated
- Help you focus your energy and efforts
- Give you confidence when you look back and see all your successes
- Help you to evaluate your performance
Planning and documenting your goals helps you to monitor your progress and provide feedback about how your are doing. This is the power of goal setting - it directs you, gives you a sense of control over your future and builds confidence.
No comments:
Post a Comment