Goals
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” Henry David Thoreau
We can look back in our lives and realize we have successfully achieved many goals. Some of our goals may have been small and some may have been large in scope. It is important to reflect from time to time and recognize all we have accomplished. Too many times in our lives we let all the good work we’ve done be overshadowed by just a few of our failures.
When we look back at our accomplishments, we may notice that even after achieving them, we were still subject to feelings of insecurity, frustration, fear, and anger. The accomplishments themselves may not have transformed our basic nature or helped us develop our inner peace and resiliency. You may have found that achieving some of them had a greater impact on your personal development and well-being than others.
Looking closely at this, we tend to find that how we obtained our goals has a much more significant impact on our lives than the goals themselves. When we achieve our goals in a way we feel good about, with integrity and in alignment with our values, we develop an authentic sense of worthiness and value. However, when we achieve our goals in ways that violate or undermine our personal values and ethics, our personal integrity and sense of worthiness decrease.
Our genuine happiness and well-being does not come from achieving many goals. They come from living a life with integrity and meaning. Whether we succeed or fail in our goals is less important than the motivation and efforts we put into them. The most important goal is achieved when our actions are a true reflection of our inner values.
As you begin this new year, I invite you to reflect on a few values that are most important to you each day and do your best to have them be reflected in your actions and choices. In the evening, take a little time to reflect upon your experience, noting what you did well and what you can improve. – John Bruna
The above is a an excerpt from one the daily emails sent to the members of the Mindful Life Community. I invite you to explore our community and consider joining.
