Goals, and Avoiding Constant Lines

One of the ways I view life, and it is certainly only one of many, is that without a solid goal, or at least a higher point that is accessible in some way, your life will undoubtedly be stuck. I wrote about suffering in the last entry, and I expressed with vigor that that it will happen, and must happen. However, the cause of it was not directly said, and I think that ignoring, or failing to establish a goal is the ultimate path to self destruction. The positive thing is that everyone has a had goals before, no matter the size, importance, or outcome. Because anything ever achieved started as a goal, even if it was conceived sub consciously, or seconds before achievement. As small as every inhaled breath began as a goal, because our brains plan out that we will have to take a new breath every second or so to stay alive. We don't think about it, or even worry about it, but every breath, action, and word we speak was born as a goal. When you think about goals this way, in the most minute fashion possible, then the object of succeeding suddenly becomes much closer to grasp. People constantly tell themselves that in order to be successful, they will have to conform to previously set social norms, such as education, income, marriage, children, and an independent lifestyle in which you are able to support yourself financially and sometimes, emotionally. This is not to say that these things are not worth achieving, in many circumstances, they are the ultimate goal for a person. But they should never be considered the only options.

As I am sure I have expressed in many ways before, ever single person is different. And yet, the majority of people believe that they must behave like those around them, in order to present themselves as orderly, or socially acceptable. That being said, we can now see our goals in two ways- (1) as unique to our own personality, and achievable only through actions defined by our true intentions and not influenced by negative surroundings, and (2) that we break down these goals into the most minute ways possible. To spend every day dreaming of being in a different place, or acting in a completely different way, is a waste of time and energy. It is nearly impossible to achieve any life long dream in the course of a day. So why should you feel like a failure at the end of a day if you are still in the same position that you started the day in? It is only common knowledge that you will not become something in a day, and that is precisely why we need to break down our goals into realistic options for ourselves, things that are easily achievable, but also lead to the ultimate point.

The only logical way for me to explain it, and to apply it to every day life, is to think of your life as a single straight line, which begins at a point "A", and ends at a point "B". The point "A" is your birth, and the point "B" is your death, whether that death be one that occurs physically, or in your soul. (This may become confusing depending on your belief in the afterlife. Your physical death is the one when your body fails to work, and you are pronounced medically "deceased". For some, life ends here, for both body and soul, but for others, the soul is thrust into an "afterlife" in which the soul lives eternally. So your line either stops at your physical death, or extends eternally, with your soul.) When you are born, you have no other action other than the instinct to stay alive. Your line is flat, with no accomplishment other than staying alive, which later in life, may actually be the goal for some. As life goes on, and goals begin to develop, the line moves either up or down, depending on your accomplishment or failure of the specific goal. This is what is most natural to a human being; failing and succeeding. And when the line dips below its steady plane, our natural response is sadness, anger, or even depression. However, when your line is lower than usual, or you have failed, or seemingly failed at something, it should not be regarded as a negative thing. This is the best opportunity to succeed. It is only natural that when at the lowest point, of anything, the only way to go is up, or remain the same. So when we fail, there are two ways to approach it- we can see it as an opportunity to only achieve a greater task than before, or we failed because the goal we had in mind was one that was not broken down into realistic parts. The greatest failure of all is to leave your line on a constant plane, with no rise or fall.

The worst thing you can do to yourself is to allow your line to remain at a constant level, with no achievement or failure. When this happens, you have failed, because you no longer have a goal. You may think you have a goal, but you do not, because with a present goal, there are only two options, fail or succeed. The most common trap to fall into is the one in which you believe you do not have a goal in mind, when you really do. You think your line is constant, but you are failing. You have a goal, and chances are, it is too big, inconceivable, or unrealistic to achieve in that present day. So you have failed in that goal, which sets your line down. So when you think you are stuck, on a constant line, you are really only sinking lower because you are ignoring the fact that you must set smaller goals. So you are actually in a good position, opposed to the rut you think you are in. Because despite your line being lower and lower by the day, now, you have no where to go but a higher point. And that alone should inspire you to achieve a small goal, something that leads to the ultimate goal. As soon as you achieve even the smallest of goals, your line suddenly shoots upward, and you are now in an even more positive position.

It is extremely rare for someone to remain on a constant line, without failing or succeeding, because usually, they are failing, but they are unaware. But failing is no longer a negative thing, so you should not be saddened when you realize this. It is an endless cycle, one that is both confusing and intriguing, because it deeply is involved in each and every one of our lives. We cannot be tricked into believing that failure, in any sense, is the end, because in reality, it is the very beginning. We had to of started at the bottom, and failing is now just considered a new beginning.