Goals and Infinite Possibilities

            A goal without a plan is only a wish.



Ah... the topic of goals. We all have goals in life, either spoken or unspoken. Sometimes we think our hopes and dreams are goals when in reality unless we put some focused attention into them, they are merely wishes. What makes the concept of planning even more interesting is the idea that a plan is flexible and should move with the circumstances. Hard work and perseverance are certainly excellent criteria for achieving a goal but there are even more tools at our fingertips.

A plan is important. If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? Plans give us a framework and structure with sign posts along the way.  Plans can also alert us when we have gone far afield from our desired outcome.  For example, I posted in January about wanting to be able to do 10 pull ups by the end of the year (starting from zero.) At that point it was just a wish stemming from my frustration that as an former competitive swimmer my upper body strength was dismal.

To transform that idea into a goal, I set a broad plan to go to the gym. From there I revised the plan to include personal training days. When the scheduling seemed  problematic I had to revise the goal to include other workout times and places. As the year progressed, I realized that my plan had to grow and expand with the circumstances. At one point the moving parts were getting crazy but I kept the overall goal in mind. Even though I didn't rigidly stick to my gym plans as I had hoped, I did stick to my commitment to my goal. The venue or the workout is flexible and I end up cross training 3 to 4 times a week. The result thus far is 8 PULL-UPS!

According to Mike Dooley, author of Infinite Possibilities, we can easily get sucked into the "cursed hows." His take on a goal is to focus on the end result while taking whatever steps you can take to get there. He advises to let the Universe do its work. That doesn't mean sit back and do nothing it just means don't get so bogged down and attached to how you are going to accomplish something. The Universe will conspire with you when you have a goal and take steps to implement you plan.

His book is an excellent motivator to achieve whatever you desire in life. INFINITE POSSIBILITIES!