The Goal
1.
To wake in the morning full of life and energy, awaiting the day with anticipation and purpose.
To step out into the world ready to accomplish a significant task.
To engage and initiate instead of merely responding. To take the active choice that you will make something happen.
2.
To maintain harmony and goodwill in relationships. To follow Shakespeare’s adage: love all, trust a few, and do wrong to no one.
To focus on contribution and engagement instead of withdrawal into yourself. (Tip: When you aren’t sure what to do next, find a small way to help someone.)
3.
To pursue productive, meaningful work. To spend most of your time doing something that you and others find meaningful.
To accept that everything you create will likely be flawed in some way, but to create anyway.
To enjoy the life you are gifted to experience. Not to take it easy, for life isn’t always easy. But to appreciate the present while looking ahead to the future.
4.
To pay attention to how you feel. Not because everything is supposed to feel good, but because how you feel is a good reflection of your overall state of being.
To understand that freedom is choice. To grasp the reality that a world of possibilities are open to you, so you’d better do something about them.
To dream bigger and to pursue the dream. To choose to leap when others hold back. To maintain a standard of surprise and a choice of challenge.
To refuse to settle, and to decline the easy path of becoming a cynic. To find something to believe in and defend it with all your heart.
5.
To align your life with these ideals, continuing to work toward them every day.
To embrace the journey, focusing on the process and deferring the arrival if necessary.
To appreciate what you have without longing for more.
To refuse to rest on your laurels. To accept that what you’ve already done is in the past. To forge ahead!
***
Note: many goals are improved through time and the contribution of others. Feel free to add to this one in your own voice.
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Image: Angie
62 Comments
The way you worded these goals brought this song from The Man of La Mancha to mind,
“To dream … the impossible dream …
To fight … the unbeatable foe …
To bear … with unbearable sorrow …
To run … where the brave dare not go …
To right … the unrightable wrong …
To love … pure and chaste from afar …
To try … when your arms are too weary …
To reach … the unreachable star … ”
It’s a wonderful song. Your goals are also wonderful. May you make progress in them each day.
Love these meaningful, fulfilling goals. I especially like the one about accepting that everything you create will likely be flawed in some way, but to create anyway. I think what holds a lot of us back (including me) is that we’re too hung up on doing things perfectly to the point where we almost get stuck. Then we wind up not taking action. Better to just take the leap, contribute something to the world that you believe will be helpful, and live the best life you can possibly live.
I logged on, looking for a little Monday morning inspiration. To my pleasant surprise! Is a complete list of everything I believe to be true. I’ve been studying and working on these things alot lately. Just wanted to say thanks for laying it down so perfectly. This one is going to be used as my new master plan.
Gorgeous. You’ve really summed it up very well there.
There’s a bizarre feeling which settles over me around around point 5. As I’m continuing to get a deeper understanding that there really isn’t a “destination” to this journey of life and that after joyously climbing to the top of one mountain and celebrating the victory, the need to keep climbing remains just as strong.
It reminds me of a quote that really struck a chord with me recently:
”How do you hold on to the great moments? Soon enough my conquests vanish, like snowflakes on a furnace. My urge just resets, as if it never happened”
It’s hard to put all future accomplishments behind, to come back down after the rush of a success and then feel like you have to start again.
Thanks for sharing
Great post. Thank you so much for putting this to words and sharing it!
the bit about accepting “that everything you create will likely be flawed in some way, but to create anyway” is just what I needed to hear. I have so many things I want to make and create but I’m too afraid of other people’s reaction and most of the things I think up never see the light of day, no matter how much I love it.
Thank you for the gift of these words. They will guide my day, everyday.
To keep your spirit alive and forever youthful.
To make your work your pleasure.
To do it even though it may be crazy.
To smile instead of frown.
To be scared to death and do it anyway.
I love your blog Chris.
Gail
Love them!
Though for me they feel less like goals (which have an end point) and more like an intention (ongoing, achievement of excellence or the star on the horizon).
I think that I would add, to tell people that you met or care about that you care about them or that they are wearing/doing something that is incredible/amazing instead of staying silent. You never know if that comment will change their day or their life.
“To accept that everything you create will likely be flawed in some way, but to create anyway.”
This is the key to creating great art. Nothing will be perfect. But some things will get darn close.
Mine? To not be afraid to be extraordinary. To counter, “who the hell am I to…” with “I can do this.” To dream bigger than enough, and to dare to change lives.
That’s the core of it.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
– Leonardo da Vinci
Thanks Chris.
Thank you so much Chris, this blog post came to me at the exact time I needed it the most, especially
“To accept that everything you create will likely be flawed in some way, but to create anyway.”
And
“To pay attention to how you feel. Not because everything is supposed to feel good, but because how you feel is a good reflection of your overall state of being.”
I woke up feeling like all hell and this made me realize that my current predicament is a reflection of how I’ve been living my life this year.
I’d personally add one more goal:
“6.
To bring harmony everywhere you go. Not to bring chaos and discord because they are not conducive to meaningful work.
To walk past fear on your way to being yourself and not a product of your environment.
To fully accept who you are and using who you are to become a better person each and every day.”
Meaningful work is the reason why I’ve co-created Actionplanr. Keep up the great work!
Lovely, timely post. Like many here, I find special resonance in your commitment “To accept that everything you create will likely be flawed in some way, but to create anyway.” I’d spin it further: “To revel in the fact that everything you create will be flawed, and the flaws will reveal you as perfection never could.”
Hooray for a Christmas party in Portland!
Just what I needed for a somewhat dreary and unfocused afternoon. Thank you!
As always, amazingly inspirational. I’m sharing this with my list… keep up the awesome work!
This inspired me to write my own goals for the day.
1. To wake up in the morning full of love & excitement
2. To connect with others in a meaningful way
3. To express myself with the hope it will be of value to others
4. Check in with how I feel before I do something
5. Slow down, don’t push. Let it flow
I put this on an index card & made it look all pretty to stick up on my wall.
So insightful yet simple. Love your way of thinking!
lovely post.
7. To pause in the middle of the day, look around and say. Oh, yes. This is exactly how i dreamed it would be.
Very nice text.
My biggest problem is found in 2:
To focus on contribution and engagement instead of withdrawal into yourself.
I am most often dwelling in my inner worlds. I am a dreamy person, and I find action and interacting with the world difficult. For every hour I interact I need an hour to reflect (roughly) – to understand, to put it into meaning.
And yes, the dreaming … the worlds of thought often seem so much more interesting than this world. Stories, science, philosophy, whatever ….
Why is interaction more valuable than drawing back into inner worlds? Where is the place for the contemplative person in this world?
I love this post. I especially love point 3 on out work: To pursue productive, meaningful work. To spend most of your time doing something that you and others find meaningful. It inspired me to write an article on the Goal of Work and How to Get Closer To It.
What a beautiful and inspiring post! the part in number two and three LITERALLY got me off the bed and back to work on my website.
“To pursue productive, meaningful work. To spend most of your time doing something that you and others find meaningful.
To accept that everything you create will likely be flawed in some way, but to create anyway.”
AND
“To focus on contribution and engagement instead of withdrawal into yourself. (Tip: When you aren’t sure what to do next, find a small way to help someone.)”
My dream of my future company should make me explode with joy instead of pouting because the website isn’t “perfect” or that it has been hard work…
Thanks Chris for keeping us inspired!
Chris,
I like to make others peoples days meaningful even if the there is no dollar value attached.
@bikespoke
Beautiful words, as always.
Love this list, very inspiring! I would like to make these my goals because they mean something and are not just on the surface, they run deeper. Some of these things require a marginal shift in daily behavior, like, waking in the morning full of energy requires you to eat better and sleep well, but others, like, pursue productive, meaningful work, require (on my part at least!) overcoming a completely overwhelming nasty habit of mine which can paralyze me to the core – procrastination. I have some really cool creative design talents and I HAVE proved myself but never to the point of success…does anyone know how I can overcome this with a (cost free) method that totally works? I have a massive fear of failure and a fear of success and of deserving…. I’m pretty sure it stems from my childhood but I don’t know how to rid myself of it! Then I can achieve this list and go forth and be who I was born to be!
“But to appreciate the present while looking ahead to the future.”
I’ve seen a few different versions of quotes like this on the web. Here’s my own version, slightly re-ordered from what I most often see:
Learn from the past.
Work for the future.
Live in the present.
And this is less “goal” and more “purpose”, but:
Follow passion, create excitement, seek joy, and have fun.
I wish I was better at actually living this way, rather than just coming up with cool purpose-goals. 🙂
To start the day with gratitude for the opportunities you can create with one more day on this beautiful planet.
To be generous of thought, spirit, word and action because you can.
To remind yourself that you are a remarkable human being surrounded by other remarkable human beings.
Your goals are really great. It reflects the inner thinking of many people in the world.
Thanks for this awesome post which inspired me a lot.
“Revel in your inner child’s will: strive to sweat and laugh every day.”
Great post – thank you. A small suggestion above. I also really appreciate the comment of Julian C.
Have a great day one and all – every day 🙂
WOW such awesome people, all of you.
To express your awesomeness, your greatness and your unique genius in the best ways you can.
To live each day in the here and now where there is always love, joy, peace and freedom waiting within to be experienced.
To dance with all of life to the tune of your heart’s song.
To bring your special light into the world to brighten all of our days
To listen deeply to your soul so that you can express your highest nature.
To be coherent as I bounce around different possibilities.
Seek realistic peaceful atmosphere while influencing and being influenced.
To Run my first marathon. To help people through my business and live a wholesome life.
Amazing post!!!! I’ll share it with my friends! Thanks!!!!
These are amazing goals!
To see the world through the eyes of love:)
To live a life well lived
Working on all of them, especially numbers 3 & 5. No, just reread them – working on them all.
Added goal: to be open to inspiration and new ways of doing things, don’t just live out of habit.
I too am inspired by your words this morning–uplifting reminders, God how we need daily reminders to figure out who we want to be and manage ourselves every to be it! The words that especially resound today refer to the critical piece of presence . . . “appreciate the present . . . pay attention . . . focusing on the process.” It is easy to be asleep, lulled by the busy that fills our lives, pushing through numbly to the next thing. All transformation I have mustered came from seeing what was in front of me. There have been gifts and clues about where to go next when I was paying attention. And to Gue–the gifts and clues aren’t always found in our own heads. Sometimes they are just outside our front door, and the only way we can find them is if we take a walk.
To share with others what I’m experiencing and learning in a way that’s honest and humble and inviting, but also evokes the strength and power I feel from what I learn and how I’m evolving. 🙂
These are more like ideal mindsets than the goals that are more commonly started around a new year. Very cool. Thanks Chris!
What a great list of goals. I printed it out to have on the wall next to my desk. Worth re-reading daily.
Have I told you lately that you rock?
My hat is off to your astute command over this toavc-brpio!
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I’ve been looking for a post like this for an age
Love them!
Though for me they feel less like goals and more like an intention (ongoing, achievement of excellence or the star on the horizon).
I think that I would add, to tell people that you met or care about that you care about them or that they are wearing/doing something that is incredible/amazing instead of staying silent. You never know if that comment will change their day or th
nice
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nice post
I printed it out to have on the wall next to my desk. Worth re-reading daily.
I think that I would add, to tell people that you met or care about that you care about them or that they are wearing/doing something that is incredible/amazing instead of staying silent. appreciate the present . . . pay attention . . . focusing on the process.” It is easy to be asleep, lulled by the busy that fills our lives, pushing through numbly to the next thing. All transformation I have mustered came from seeing what was in front of me.
I'm not a hat guy, but this morning I rode to work in "casual" slacks and a nice new sweater. I often wear a button up collared shirt. I see other bike commuters wearing ties and jackets. Most, though, are the yellow jacket wearing bike nerds (which often is me also).
Arsenal fan here, I have jenkinson in my team as you don’t often get a top 4 defender at that price. The heavy doubts about right back vindicate the price sadly.
Wow! Thank you so much for your comment Jenn! I love to hear that there are people out there trying and enjoying my recipes! Comment anytime! I would love to know what else your family loves.
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