“If you don’t like the outcome, change the process,” is a bit of wisdom that I picked up over twenty years ago and like an old song lyric, it still roams the vast, high plains of my mind. It usually stops by for a visit, this time of year. For millennia we have used the changing of the calendar as an opportunity to make resolutions. We set a goal, take aim and launch ourselves on a course toward the objective. Some of us achieve it, most don’t.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” ~ Søren Kierkegaard
Why do we miss so frequently? Is it a lack of commitment? Is the goal too lofty? The truth is; even when we’re committed to the goal and it is within our ability, we can still crash into an unforeseen obstacle. We can’t predict the future, nor can we control it, though we do our damndest to try. Often we get trapped, when we are too focused on the goal. A negative mindset can develop because we want the result but it resides in the uncontrollable future. “I won’t be happy until I lose 20 pounds.”
Goals are the framework, they provide a vision of what is to be accomplished. Then processes and actions should be developed with an awareness of what is in our control and what is not. Once the framework is used to create the process, we can release it, along with any negativity that comes with attaining it or not. We can stay present, following through with the actions, we created.
“Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive.” ~ Don Miguel Ruiz
We are artists, painting a masterpiece. The goals are the broad brushstrokes that frame it. The actions, that we commit to each day are the details and the highlights of our picture. Don’t be afraid to color outside the lines either. Hyper-focusing on a goal can impede experimentation and risk taking. Taking that risk, just might send us on a new adventure, with an even more exciting outcome. One that we haven’t even imagined yet.
Goal talk always puts me in the mood to make a list, so in no particular order:
- If you don’t like the outcome, change the process.
- You can still crash into an unforeseen obstacle or a new adventure.
- You are an artist, paint a masterpiece.
- Don’t be afraid to color outside the lines.
- Consider that the goal of life, is to have fun. What better way to frame your journey!
