Goals: From Here to There

What would you like to see the world be like? Where would you like to find yourself in one year, five years, ten years, or even further into the future? It’s great to live in the moment and make the most out of current experiences. However, if we’re always caught up in the moment, we may forget about what goals we were working towards and find ourselves on a completely different path than expected.

It’s easy to get caught up in a flow of things. Things have a way of becoming routine, normal, and comfortable unless we make a conscious effort to pursue new challenges and engage in something unique on a regular basis. If we fully understand the potential benefits that come from a full life of having experiences, then we can find the right motivation to make an appropriate balance among the longer-term goals, the short-term goals, and living in the moment.

Long-term goals can’t be accomplished unless we take the necessary short-term steps needed to get there. While most creative-types don’t like making plans and working with organized schedules, a list of goals can go a long way to keep things in-check. Sometimes we lose site of our goals and our paths get bent and lead us to a very different direction simply because we aren’t specific as to where we really wanted to go in the first place.

A schedule isn’t as necessary to accomplishing a goal as is having a very detailed goal in mind. From that detailed goal, coming up with the necessary steps needed and the estimated amount of time required to accomplish each step will help keep not only your conscious mind engaged, but your subconscious mind will be active as well.

The subconscious helps you when it genuinely believes the goal is good, safe, and conducive to obtaining a better life for yourself, and hopefully those around you. When I was younger, I wanted to be a famous musician because, well, I wanted to be respected, liked, and live an exciting life with travel. While those reasons may seem innocent enough, my subconscious was smart enough to know that I had less than ideal motives included and that fame wasn’t going to provide the self-respect and peace I was really looking for.

My subconscious essentially sabotaged my efforts without me knowing it. Perhaps it would manifest through excuses on why we wouldn’t play shows, why I kept getting skittish on recruiting other band members, and why I had a constant sense of anxiety of messing up while performing. I simply needed to fulfill my needs from a place outside of the dangerously volatile approval of the public.

Goals need to align with moral values in order to be successful. You cannot go against your consciousness and expect to be successful - it’s truly impossible. In a nutshell, find what you love to do regardless of money, know what goals you want accomplish in detail, come up with a rough timeline and the steps needed to get there.

Make sure your morals are on the same page before you start the journey or you will be frustrated. However, a goal not met is not always a bad thing. As the expression goes, “Be careful what you wish for because it may come true.” Some of our goals and aspirations are not as beneficial to us as we may have initially thought. However, it all serves a purpose of development and understanding. Don’t be afraid to fail – if one door shuts, another will open.

For further related reading, please check out: Moving Forward.