Aswath shared a post a couple weeks ago that I’ve thought about a few times since.
There’s a pressure to have goals and wants. We make it a point to ask kids and adults what their goals are. What do you want to be when you grow up?! Where do you see yourself in 5 years?!
I suppose there are benefits of having a future vision, but goals also take up lifetime and mind space, and make you defer contentment and just be-ing.
I know of at least a handful of people who wanted to be managers, advisors, or startup founders. They like the idea of it – the title or the perception of being a leader. But they end up disliking the job. I know people, myself included, who want to have a good community and circle of friends, but hate the process of meeting new people. Most people want to look fit, but dislike the routine of exercise and diet.
For all your current and future aspirations, ask yourself if you’d actually enjoy the day-to-day and whole lifestyle aspect of attaining it and living it once you get it. If not, free up your mind for stuff that does meet the bar or just being at peace.
There were two ideas in the post that have stayed with me.
The first about picking goals where we see ourselves enjoying the process. I chuckled at the examples – I’ve either seen them first hand or lived them
The other theme is one about intentional trade-offs. Some goals/objectives are worth the trade-offs. In other cases, trading the goals off gives us peace of mind.
Either way, choose intentionally.
