Pros and Cons of Goals

by | May 16, 2022 | Observations, Peter's Voice

Today there is much focus on setting goals to get more out of life, but there are both positives and negatives to having them.

Oftentimes, when you set a goal, you not only set what you want to happen but you also tie in the way it should happen.

When we focus on the ‘how’, we get bogged down in the details and planning. It’s then so easy to lose sight of where we want to go (our goal) and we get carried away with making sure the next step is what we want it to be. We don’t let things happen and become discouraged when things don’t work as we expect them to.

Another issue with goals is we often forget the journey is at least as important as the destination. As someone once told me, “You never get ‘there’. You are and will always be ‘here'”. When you put so much attention on the next step or the final step, you miss out on what is happening here and now. In Will Smith’s autobiography, he talks about how as a child he was told to build a brick wall with his brother. Day after day, they complained about how hard it was to build the large wall. His father told him not to focus on the wall, but to focus on each brick. When you pay attention to each and every brick – taking care to set it just right – the wall will appear as if by magic.

And finally, we get so focused on our goal we don’t see what we’re missing. This happens all the time when we are trying to drive to a specific location and ignore all the wondrous things along the way. There is so much going on in our world, that it is impossible to see it all, and when we fix on a goal or destination in our mind, it helps to block out all the unnecessary things that might get in our way. But we also end up blocking out the things that could help us achieve our goal.

Having goals is helpful to get more out of life, but you need to be wary of being so focused that you lose track of where you are and what you really want.

Take a look at your goals and check if they are still working for you.

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