Goalsetting: the internal dialog of a Meyer's Brigg "P" with a rousing finish
I read somewhere some time ago, that “hazy goals produce hazy results.” At first I very much disliked this phrase. It was jarring and simplistic.
I’m someone who has rarely felt the desire to define hard and fast goals—I dislike being boxed in and am generally more comfortable riding the waves and trusting where I float, with an occasional paddle in an interesting direction as something appears on the horizon. I believed that one could keep one’s prospects vague and still have a strong sense of purpose. After all, "not all who wander are lost."
I’ve since found that if I do want to get to the farthest points of interest on the horizon, it isn't quite enough to give an occasional lackadaisical paddle. I benefit greatly from charting and carrying a map too. It is true that having clarity is essential to chart and revise the course, and indeed, the more clear and defined my goals are, the closer I find that I come to achieving proximity of where I want to find myself, and of how I want to expend my energies…cause my effects…grow my gardens.
______________________
But still, the question of whether goals and destinations are even necessary at all begs to be asked more directly. Isn't it enough to take life one breath at a time?
No, they not necessarily necessary. But then, they do up the ante on making things more interesting. They give the journey some more intensity and momentum—more vitality because more is at stake. They provide a context within which to live and make meaning. That and when a specified goal is actually reached, it's more often than not a hoot, a shot in the arm, a cause for hats and horns, certainly, better than a poke in the eye!
_________________________
I think, despite my previous preferences, I now would rather have a destination in mind. I’d rather [gasp] limit [sigh] my options to increase the chances that opportunities which I favor most are integrated into my path before those that just randomly float my way are. And as much as I still enjoy wandering and getting lost, at what is quite possibly the midpoint of my life, I recognize that I do want to attempt to achieve a few things before I expire. I would be disappointed if I don't at least give them a go. That reason and that there are enough things (including skills, ideas, and interests) that I've picked up along the way in the first half of my life that I'd like to either keep or augment.
______________________________
How exalted is the goal/dream/destination? Is THE GOAL itself as important as the journey to the goal? In the end, is it not true that: “happiness isn’t a destination, it’s the train that gets you there.”
It's true enough, yet, if one doesn’t have a destination, it’s damn hard to know which ticket to buy at the counter.
...NOW EVERYBODY SING, this ditty in praise of having goals:
(Lyrics to “Happy Talk” from South Pacific)
Happy talk, keep talkin' happy talk,
Talk about things you'd like to do.
You got to have a dream,
If you don't have a dream,
How you gonna have a dream come true?
Talk about the moon floatin' in the sky
Lookin' at a lily on the lake;
Talk about a bird learnin' how to fly.
Makin' all the music he can make.
Happy talk, keep talkin' happy talk,
Talk about things you'd like to do.
You got to have a dream,
If you don't have a dream,
How you gonna have a dream come true?
Talk about the sparrow lookin' like a toy
Pickin' through the broaches of a tree;
Talk about the girl, talk about the boy
Countin' all the ripples on the sea.
Happy talk, keep talkin' happy talk,
Talk about things you'd like to do.
You got to have a dream,
If you don't have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true?
Talk about the boy sayin' to the girl:
"Golly, baby, I'm a lucky cause."
Talk about the girl sayin' to the boy:
"You an' me is lucky to be us!"
Happy talk, keep talkin' happy talk,
Talk about things you'd like to do.
You got to have a dream,
If you don't have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true?
If you don't talk happy,
And you never have dream,
Then you'll never have a dream come true!
[Spoken]
It's good idea, you like?
I’m someone who has rarely felt the desire to define hard and fast goals—I dislike being boxed in and am generally more comfortable riding the waves and trusting where I float, with an occasional paddle in an interesting direction as something appears on the horizon. I believed that one could keep one’s prospects vague and still have a strong sense of purpose. After all, "not all who wander are lost."
I’ve since found that if I do want to get to the farthest points of interest on the horizon, it isn't quite enough to give an occasional lackadaisical paddle. I benefit greatly from charting and carrying a map too. It is true that having clarity is essential to chart and revise the course, and indeed, the more clear and defined my goals are, the closer I find that I come to achieving proximity of where I want to find myself, and of how I want to expend my energies…cause my effects…grow my gardens.
______________________
But still, the question of whether goals and destinations are even necessary at all begs to be asked more directly. Isn't it enough to take life one breath at a time?
No, they not necessarily necessary. But then, they do up the ante on making things more interesting. They give the journey some more intensity and momentum—more vitality because more is at stake. They provide a context within which to live and make meaning. That and when a specified goal is actually reached, it's more often than not a hoot, a shot in the arm, a cause for hats and horns, certainly, better than a poke in the eye!
_________________________
I think, despite my previous preferences, I now would rather have a destination in mind. I’d rather [gasp] limit [sigh] my options to increase the chances that opportunities which I favor most are integrated into my path before those that just randomly float my way are. And as much as I still enjoy wandering and getting lost, at what is quite possibly the midpoint of my life, I recognize that I do want to attempt to achieve a few things before I expire. I would be disappointed if I don't at least give them a go. That reason and that there are enough things (including skills, ideas, and interests) that I've picked up along the way in the first half of my life that I'd like to either keep or augment.
______________________________
How exalted is the goal/dream/destination? Is THE GOAL itself as important as the journey to the goal? In the end, is it not true that: “happiness isn’t a destination, it’s the train that gets you there.”
It's true enough, yet, if one doesn’t have a destination, it’s damn hard to know which ticket to buy at the counter.
...NOW EVERYBODY SING, this ditty in praise of having goals:
(Lyrics to “Happy Talk” from South Pacific)
Happy talk, keep talkin' happy talk,
Talk about things you'd like to do.
You got to have a dream,
If you don't have a dream,
How you gonna have a dream come true?
Talk about the moon floatin' in the sky
Lookin' at a lily on the lake;
Talk about a bird learnin' how to fly.
Makin' all the music he can make.
Happy talk, keep talkin' happy talk,
Talk about things you'd like to do.
You got to have a dream,
If you don't have a dream,
How you gonna have a dream come true?
Talk about the sparrow lookin' like a toy
Pickin' through the broaches of a tree;
Talk about the girl, talk about the boy
Countin' all the ripples on the sea.
Happy talk, keep talkin' happy talk,
Talk about things you'd like to do.
You got to have a dream,
If you don't have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true?
Talk about the boy sayin' to the girl:
"Golly, baby, I'm a lucky cause."
Talk about the girl sayin' to the boy:
"You an' me is lucky to be us!"
Happy talk, keep talkin' happy talk,
Talk about things you'd like to do.
You got to have a dream,
If you don't have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true?
If you don't talk happy,
And you never have dream,
Then you'll never have a dream come true!
[Spoken]
It's good idea, you like?
posted by Pearl Pocock | 2:34 PM
1 Comments:
Elsewhere, you asked about this quote:
We cannot put off living until we are ready. The most salient characteristic of life is its coerciveness; it is always urgent, "here and now" without any possible postponement. Life is fired at us point-blank.
I told you I would find the author. It was Jose Ortega Y Gasset
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