Never Make the Goal Too Rigid
It’s important to have a goal – but it needs to retain flexibility.
You never know what you may get. When you set a goal for yourself you still need to leave the Universe some wiggle room.
What does that mean? It means that having a goal is important. But at the same time, there needs to be room for it to expand beyond your intent.
The Universe is a funny thing. It is made up of abundance and endless possibilities, far beyond our ability to comprehend it.
When you set out to do something – say you intend to make a living as a voice actor – there should be a goal. But the goal needs to be balanced between being vague and too specific.
I want to be a famous voice actor is far too vague. It’s my desire to be the main voice actor for a Disney hit is too specific and rigid. I desire to be a voice actor for film and television sets the goal with enough room for interpretation and unexpected awesomeness.
To be fair, you could get more specific. I want to earn decent money as a voice actor is too vague. It’s my desire to earn a million dollars from voice acting for movies is too specific and rigid. I desire to earn a million dollars from voice acting in film, TV, and any other options that come my way leaves the door open for possibility.
Leaving wiggle room and flexibility opens you to receive what you desire. Or even better.
Never ignore the possibilities
I am striving to make my living as a writer. However, the specific goal I have is mixed with a couple of different potential options.
As I continue to work on my fiction, I desire to earn a living off my published works. To that end, I am putting greater effort into the process and writing more. Currently, I am exploring the possibility of publishing a book every-other-month in 2021. Partially this is saturating the market more thoroughly to offer greater options. In part, this is a reflection of a new and more powerful work ethic on my part.
My nonfiction is ongoing. Daily blogs have led me to a new place where I am partnering with another. This has come from a unique understanding of her project. While the specifics are still being worked out, the potential is astounding. This could open doors I’ve been interested in opening.
I did not go looking for this opportunity. However, I have left myself open to the possibility. Knowing that doing these things wholly on my own can be limiting, I’m open to finding alternate routes.
There are endless possibilities in the Universe. When you limit yourself or set too narrow a goal you close yourself off from them. Sure, I could stick to my first and primary love – fantasy and science fiction. For a long time that was what I most wanted to be known for. I envisioned getting my stories turned into movies and TV shows and becoming a known quantity like Asimov, Zahn, Herbert, Tolkien, Gaiman, etc.
But that is not all I am and all I do. So why not establish myself for my nonfiction work, too? If I can earn my living in this way – I am open to whatever form that takes.
Consciousness creates reality
When I made the best use of this – healing completely from extreme injuries – I left the Universe plenty of wiggle room.
Yes, I had outstanding doctors and therapists helping me heal. But even they couldn’t explain how my healing went as fast as it did. I envisioned that I would recover completely. Despite a severely broken leg repaired via bone graft and fusing two bones together, titanium plates holding together my shattered clavicle, and nerve damage to my primary arm – I knew I would be whole again.
How did this allow for wiggle room? I didn’t focus on the numerous scars it left behind in the idea of total healing. Being fully capable of using my arm again didn’t exclude that there may be some remaining nerve damage. Complete healing meant returning to all the things I could do before the injury. No limitations, no giving up the things I loved.
Walking, fencing, running, typing, and all the things I loved to do. I’d be able to do them again. How I would get there, and specific details were left out.
I have an impressively scarred right leg. There are still numb spots up and down my right arm. Titanium plates are fused with my clavicle. No, I am not how I was completely before the accident – but I am healed to the point where I can do all I could before.
The goal was always healing. I left the how and specifics of just what it would look like when attained open. To the surprise and delight of my primary doctor, my limp was nearly gone and my arm fully functioning the last time I saw him – 21 years ago.
Balance a vague goal with a specific goal
This is a tremendous challenge. But frankly, finding balance in most aspects of life is a challenge.
When my goal was to become a bestselling author, that was too vague and too specific. How so? Because bestselling is at least partially subjective. New York Times bestselling? Amazon best selling? USA Today bestselling? This was also vague because becoming a bestselling author may not earn the income I desire to as a writer.
Further, the goal hinged on me becoming an author when that was largely just a hobby.
Thus, the goal was reevaluated. Now, I’m an author. So, the goal is to earn a sustainable income from writing. Whatever form that takes.
I am perfectly content to work with the nonfiction, fiction, and content writing options. Yet I have still left my goal a little too vague.
Why? Because I haven’t defined a sustainable income.
This part can be a slippery slope. It is a good idea to be specific – but not TOO specific here. Also, you cannot set the goal beyond your perception of reality.
Yes, I would LOVE to earn a million dollars from my writing. That, however, is too specific and vague at the same time. That’s because I cannot see any possibility of that within ANY of my control.
That’s why I use sustainable income as my bar. What does that look like to me? That’s a good question I need to answer. Enough to pay my bills, but also do the things I love to do and be generous in giving gifts and charitable donations. I’d like to earn enough income to not have to worry at all about paying bills or being in debt while saving for my future.
The number needs to be set at no less than ‘$ XX, XXX.00’ or more.
Be mindful of the present and aware of the goal
Working with a goal is a good way to direct your life. It opens you to going somewhere that you desire to go.
But to do that you need to be conscious of the point of origin. Where are you here and now?
Lessons and experiences from the past have brought you to this moment. You would not be where you are or who you are without your past. But the past has passed, and you can only go forward from where you are here and now.
Too many people use the past to envision the future. But the past cannot be repeated, removed, or undone. It has come and gone and all you can do is proceed forward. Setting a goal ahead of yourself gives you a direction – and that is the philosophy of Pathwalking.
The path will produce many unexpected things along the way – and that is why your goal should not be too specific. You may discover on your journey that something you desire changed. Or an option you hadn’t considered shows itself.
But you need to be mindful of the present moment. Mindfulness makes you aware of your conscious self. Then you can use your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions to be who you desire to be – and proceed forward.
You are capable of tremendous potential and possibility. It’s important to have a goal – but it needs to retain flexibility. That way you are open to receive not just what you desire – but potentially more and better.
What goals are you working towards today?
This is the four-hundred and sixtieth exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are ideas for – and my personal experiences with – mindfulness and walking along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.
I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world along the way. Additionally, I desire to empower myself and my readers with conscious reality creation.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share this.
The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is availablehere. My additional writing, both fiction and non-fiction, are available here.
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