What We’re Often Not Told About Achieving Goals

. Today, we are much more excited about diet pills that promise weight loss without effort, “hacks” to help us grow our businesses to 6 figure companies over night, cars that get us from point A to point B in as little time as possible and dating websites that cut the grunt work out of meeting people. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with appreciating efficiency. I myself love to get the best results possible in the shortest period of time when I am tackling something. Those who tout the “work smarter, not harder” mantra are certainly on to something. That being said, I think we are now collectively learning that for most things quick fixes leave a lot to be desired. Magic weight loss pills don’t really help improve your body shape, but simply serve to help make your wallet lighter. Business Hacks lead to a company that blows up too fast and is unsustainable, or have the look and feel of something that is inauthentic and thus not very attractive to people. Those fast cars are fast, but they are not built to last. Swiping through profile pictures on a computer screen makes you feel lonelier than before you started using the dating service. I am not going to tell you that wanting something now is bad in and of itself. I can totally understand why you would want to manifest your desires into your reality as quickly as possible. Generally you want things because you believe that having said thing is going to make you happier than you currently are. You believe that on some level when you attain your desires you will be in a better space. As a natural pleasure seeker this is simply a part of your nature – you are always going to be on a quest to improve your current state – to improve how you feel.

The reason I say this is because I know from personal experience that living to reach a goal, and to reach that goal as quickly as possible is never as fulfilling as I think it is going to be. I also know from watching others personal experiences that those who are constantly chasing something, wanting to make their dreams come true tomorrow, tend to be in a constant state of stress.

They tend to vacillate between feeling extreme excitement for the future, which usually comes with great striving and deep longing, and extreme disappointment when they come crashing back into their current reality where their desire is not yet manifest. I have seen in myself and in others that when we are in the process of getting to our goal, when you have this “make it happen as quickly as possible” mindset the more moments that pass on the journey, the deeper and deeper we sink into despair. The drive and desperation always seems to wear on the soul of whoever has taken it on and it always seems to lead negative feelings. This brings me to the point of my article.

The first think that I feel this ‘get results now’ attitude has robbed from us is the idea that life is lived now – life is what happens in between conceptualizing a goal, and the eventual attainment of that goal. It is in this middle place that all the real magic happens. It is during all those frustrating, wonderful, amazing, exciting, terrifying moments of dating that we learn about ourselves, and how to have a true connection with someone else. It is through the process of learning how to nourish your body, fighting through workouts, inches lost and gained, and the transformation of your lifestyles that you can grasp the amazing machine you call your body and how it all works to keep you alive. It is through the late nights, early mornings, building, brain storming, trashing, re-starting, networking and toiling that you discover all the tools you will need to sustain a successful business long term. If you are purely focused on getting to your goal in the shortest amount of time possible, think of all the moments of magic you are going to miss along the way. Think of all the areas of personal growth and transformation you will be forfeiting if you are just powering through? What if we were to give space to the journey to be something that transforms us and makes us into the people we want to be? Second, I want you to remember that the experience you have on the journey towards your goal is an awesome indicator of whether or not that goal is actually in alignment with your highest good or not. If you have selected a desired outcome, and it is all you can do to reach your destination as quickly as possible because the thought of all it is going to take to get you from here to there is sickening, perhaps this is not the right item for you to pursue. For instance, if you have decided you want to be a doctor, but the years of biochemistry, pharmacology and calculus classes make you want to lose your lunch, what makes you think that the destination of ‘doctor’ is going to be any more pleasant for you? Of course there are going to be challenges and obstacles on every path, but if you are truly living your highest purpose, overall the journey towards your goal should be as pleasant for you as having the goal reached will be. If the journey is fun, you are so much more likely to stick with it, you will not be wasting years or months or weeks of your life in agony, and you will be so much more likely to enjoy your destination. In the moments between your goals. Your enjoyment of your journey is a signal to you about whether or not you are on your most authentic path. Don’t let the allure of a quick fix pull these two treasures from you. You deserve to have a beautiful journey. You deserve to learn, grow, change and expand on your way to your desires. You deserve to feel that your life is happening now, not just over there when your goal is actualized. You deserve to take the time to listen to your feelings and emotions – to tap into your internal guidance and to follow your most authentic path. You deserve the journey. So take it. .

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