As some of us are setting goals for the New Year, I realize that a goal is something that lives in the future. It's something we strive for, not what we're currently experiencing, therefore to only focus on a goal would be to focus on the destination which is the opposite of what I want to accomplish.
With that said, I don't think we should completely write off setting any goals. Having a goal can motivate us and push us to get things done. For example, I've been setting running goals so that I can run at a somewhat competitive speed for a 10K. However, running a 10K well isn't my primary goal. It's a flexible goal that I set so that I will push myself so that I can hopefully produce results as far as improving my fitness goes. I keep the goal flexible so that I can keep it realistic and therefore achievable. The primary goal should be to find joy in whatever I am doing, in the moment I am doing it.
If I were to say that I have resolutions for this year, they would be this:
- Continue letting go of things, people, and old thinking habits, that do not serve me or bring me joy; sometimes less is more.
- Strengthen the relationships that matter the most to me. I want to focus less on their flaws (we all have them) or trying to "fix" them and learn to just love and accept them for who they are today.
- Live. Simply live and enjoy life, moment by moment - that is all. I want to focus less on attaining some kind of accomplishment and more on enjoying the little things that genuinely make me the happiest. For me, that may look something like this: coloring, watching old cartoons, being outdoors, reading a book, roasting marshmallows over a fire, going for a walk, going to church, playing cards or a board game with my family, working a puzzle - the list could go on.
Before you make a year's worth of to do's, try taking some time to reset. Why do you feel the need to accomplish everything you're wanting to accomplish? Would the process of doing those things make you happy or are you chasing a feeling of accomplishment, a feeling that lives in the future? Would you regret not doing those things? If you had nothing to do, what would you want to fill your time with? Think about why you want to do the things you're set out to do. If you take the time to reset, to step back and think about all the things you fill up your life with, you may begin to discover what is really meaningful to you and what is not.
May all your dreams come true when you're Along for the Ride this year. If you let go of what doesn't really matter, care for and nurture the people/things that do matter, and do more of the simple things that bring you joy, you may come to find that you already have everything in your power to make all your dreams come true.
