For some, goals are motivators and serve as a means to accomplish something new and desirable. If you belong to that group of people, then continue to set new goals and reach them one by one and I will applaud your success.
……but what about those of us who don't have goals? Does that mean that we aren't interested in bettering ourselves or our position in life? Of course not! We all would love to achieve a higher plateau but as each one of us is uniquely different, so is our approach to achieving something new and desirable. Allow me to elaborate.
I recently joined a gym. The person guiding me through the initial application process was baffled that I wanted to join a gym, yet I had absolutely no weight loss goal or health improvement goals. It was simply incomprehensible to her. I walked in the door, she argued, surely "something" motivated me to do that, so therefore, I must have a goal. I don't, I assured her.
I lead a rather solitary life and felt the need to mingle. So, I weighed my options There are a variety of things I could have signed up for but I settled on a gym because, aside from mingling, I felt that it couldn't hurt to move a bit more than I presently do. By joining a gym, my mission was complete. I now get to mingle and move at the same time. Now, if I should so happen to lose a few pounds while mingling, I won't be mad at anyone at all!!! lol Understanding my point of view a little better, she still tried to push me for a weight loss goal. 10 pounds, maybe 20, she wondered….. Absolutely not!!!
You see, without a goal in mind, I can come as the free spirit that I am. I can go at my own pace and make this a fun place to be at……but if you want to place goals in front of me, I'll feel like a failure if I don't reach them. I would then eventually associate the gym as being the place where someone other than myself knew that I failed. No matter how encouraging the entire staff would try to be, it won't change the fact that, in writing, they have a number of pounds I said I'd want to lose……but didn't…..and I'd be embarrassed after a while…. I'd begin to dread going in because I'd feel like everyone is waiting for results and sooner or later, I'd stop going all together to this place that suddenly worked like a travel agent for guilt trips.
At least for me - goals lead to stress!!!
I get where I need to go on my own terms. To try and squeeze me into your mold of tried and true methods, would be like forcing a square through a circle! Where do you want to be in 5 years? Well, I don't know about you, but ask me in five years and I'll tell you were I'm at. If I'm still in the same place, that doesn't mean that I lack motivation, it simply means that I like it here and wouldn't mind staying a minute longer.
So, you go ahead and set and achieve your goals. Just keep in mind that for some of us, the motto is NO GOALS - NO PROBLEM!
