Why We Should Set Goals
Living life without clear goals is like walking in the unknown, or traveling in circles that simply lead us into confusion. Whereas living with moderate ambitions or short term goals may make our lives seem easy in the short run, because it leaves us unstretched and free to relax, where all those around us are hurrying. But in the longer term, when we see others exceeding our modest achievements, and realize that they were running in order to achieve something with their lives, the pleasure we take in relaxing will diminish. In its stead, we will feel that we have wasted our opportunities. Where others excel, we lag behind, and our discomfort is intensified by seeing those behind us overtake us as they rush to meet their goals.
People often set ambitious targets, aiming far into the future. Many of us do this to some degree, sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously. In itself this is not odd, but it does become odd when the goals people set are limited to financial goals. Money alone is not sufficient to bring tranquility. Setting goals for each of our five equilibriums is the real key to success as human beings. Being concerned with money alone is a superficial conceit, driven by our instinctive greed. Having more money than other people does not make us better than them. What makes us better is having a rounded personality with equilibrium in all five of the dimensions that are essential to our lives. We must understand these five needs and set targets that encompass them all.
Setting goals and following a path to reach them is an easy concept to understand. There is no shortage of advice on how to achieve it; the nearest library is bound to be filled with shelves full books on the topic. Therefore there is no point in dealing with it at length here. It is enough for me to point out that we need to direct our lives with precision. If you dislike reading, or listening to audio books, then overcome that dislike to learn more about how to set your goals. It is, after all, an essential part of succeeding. Reading up on management techniques is our best chance for keeping our lives moving forward in a straight line. And the person who walks in a straight line finishes first.
This post is part of a blog series where I share excerpts and stories from my book, 5 Essential Dimensions: How to balance your life for health, success and contentment and expand upon some of the themes within the book. If you’d like to connect, you can find me on Facebook and Twitter.
