When it's okay to have no goals
It's a new year. I guess that means it's time to set some goals and resolutions for my life. Or at least for the next couple of weeks, which is how long most of us remember said goals. Either way it seemed appropriate to share some things that have been on my mind when it comes to goals.
I've never been incredibly skilled at setting goals. I tend to either set them impossibly high, which defeats the purpose, or unnecessarily low, which also defeats the purpose. I realize the potential of goals to help us stretch ourselves to grow and improve, I'm just really bad at finding the right balance between shooting for the moon and hitting the cowpie right in front of me. So I've done some pondering thinking about what it means to have goals.
I think in it's simplest form a goal is something we want; a desired outcome that carries with it an set of actions necessary to be acheived. Most of us are really good at defining the outcome but really bad at figuring out the correct set of actions. And really, that is the hardest part. It's difficult to break it down into smaller steps. It's easy to want, hard to act. As the famous Jack Handy once said "It's easy to sit there and say you'd like to have more money. And Iguess that's what I like about it. It's easy. Just sitting there, rocking back and forth, wanting that money." Pretty deep, right? But it's also true. We as human beings are inherenly lazy and tend to do the easiest thing possible. I have noticed this is a trait especially prevalent in my line of work as a software programmer. Easy is almost always the first choice and we really have to be careful not to confuse easy with right.
So the first nugget of wisdom that came from pondering goals is that I have to find a way to pair the desire with some actions. It's not a large nugget, but it's a place to start.
With that new tool added to my arsenal, I went looking for more inspiration, so I naturally turned to the scriptures. This is where things got interesting for me. I used my scripture app on my phone to search for the word "Goal". I was expecting some scripture references that I could read and ponder, maybe cross-reference, and learn what the Lord has taught about goals. Guess what I found? Well, you probably know by now because I'll bet you stopped reading for a second and did your own search. Spoiler alert.......the word goal does not appear any any of the Standard Works (that would include the Bilble-Old and New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price). Not one single scripture. For those using the LDS scripture set I will say that it does show up twice in the Bible Dictionary, both times with references to Jesus Christ being "the goal of all creation", and once in the Topical Guide where it says "See Objectives, Perfection".
So the scriptures don't teach us anything about setting goals. We're taught in school, at our places of employment, and by almost every motivational speaker to ever live that setting goals is important, even critical if we want to achieve our dreams and become better. We're conditioned from an early age to understand that you won't accidentally acheive a goal but that you have to work for it. So why, of all things we do learn about in the scriptures, do we not learn about setting goals?
Follow me if you will through a series of thoughts that I hope will help you understand. First, our journey in life to become our best self is marked by degrees. Dalin H Oaks referrs to these degrees as "good, better, best". Some of the things we do are good, some are better, and our ultimate goal is to do best. Think of it like the stars, the moon, and the sun. Each one provides light, but in varying degrees. The stars are good, the moon is better, and the sun is best. Now, let's revisit the part where I searched for the word "goal" in the scriptures and found it used in the Bible Dictionary twice. There it referred to the Savior as the "goal of all creation". So if we're sticking with the sun, moon, and stars theme, the Savior is the sun. We're more around the stars level, and we probably know a few moons.
We know the scriptures teach us how to be more like the Savior. They teach us His gospel and His commandments. The scriptures teach us how to become suns, and this is why they don't teach about goals. The Lord doesn't have goals. He has purpose and a plan. To me, the word goal suggests the possibility that it might not be acheived. It's something to be aspired to, but may be out of reach. That is not how the Lord operates. With Him, nothing is impossible. He tells us that 'though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled." I don't know how many of us can say that of our words, but Lord certainly can. As we increase in knowledge and faith, as we grow from stars to moons and eventually to suns we reach points where our words, or maybe better said our commitments, will be upheld and accomplished, but we're not there yet.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't set goals now. Stars need to learn to become moons. Moons need to learn to become suns. Part of that learning process is setting a goal and working to accomplish it. We may not get there every time, but we will get better every time we try. Don't give up. To quote an LDS hymn, "there is hope shining brightly before us". And to quote Proverbs 4:18, "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day".
When we reach that perfect day, it will be just fine to have no goals. When we reach the goal of all creation our own goals will be replaced by purposes. For now, it's good enough to be a star but remember that brighter days are in your future.
I've never been incredibly skilled at setting goals. I tend to either set them impossibly high, which defeats the purpose, or unnecessarily low, which also defeats the purpose. I realize the potential of goals to help us stretch ourselves to grow and improve, I'm just really bad at finding the right balance between shooting for the moon and hitting the cowpie right in front of me. So I've done some pondering thinking about what it means to have goals.
I think in it's simplest form a goal is something we want; a desired outcome that carries with it an set of actions necessary to be acheived. Most of us are really good at defining the outcome but really bad at figuring out the correct set of actions. And really, that is the hardest part. It's difficult to break it down into smaller steps. It's easy to want, hard to act. As the famous Jack Handy once said "It's easy to sit there and say you'd like to have more money. And Iguess that's what I like about it. It's easy. Just sitting there, rocking back and forth, wanting that money." Pretty deep, right? But it's also true. We as human beings are inherenly lazy and tend to do the easiest thing possible. I have noticed this is a trait especially prevalent in my line of work as a software programmer. Easy is almost always the first choice and we really have to be careful not to confuse easy with right.
So the first nugget of wisdom that came from pondering goals is that I have to find a way to pair the desire with some actions. It's not a large nugget, but it's a place to start.
With that new tool added to my arsenal, I went looking for more inspiration, so I naturally turned to the scriptures. This is where things got interesting for me. I used my scripture app on my phone to search for the word "Goal". I was expecting some scripture references that I could read and ponder, maybe cross-reference, and learn what the Lord has taught about goals. Guess what I found? Well, you probably know by now because I'll bet you stopped reading for a second and did your own search. Spoiler alert.......the word goal does not appear any any of the Standard Works (that would include the Bilble-Old and New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price). Not one single scripture. For those using the LDS scripture set I will say that it does show up twice in the Bible Dictionary, both times with references to Jesus Christ being "the goal of all creation", and once in the Topical Guide where it says "See Objectives, Perfection".
So the scriptures don't teach us anything about setting goals. We're taught in school, at our places of employment, and by almost every motivational speaker to ever live that setting goals is important, even critical if we want to achieve our dreams and become better. We're conditioned from an early age to understand that you won't accidentally acheive a goal but that you have to work for it. So why, of all things we do learn about in the scriptures, do we not learn about setting goals?
Follow me if you will through a series of thoughts that I hope will help you understand. First, our journey in life to become our best self is marked by degrees. Dalin H Oaks referrs to these degrees as "good, better, best". Some of the things we do are good, some are better, and our ultimate goal is to do best. Think of it like the stars, the moon, and the sun. Each one provides light, but in varying degrees. The stars are good, the moon is better, and the sun is best. Now, let's revisit the part where I searched for the word "goal" in the scriptures and found it used in the Bible Dictionary twice. There it referred to the Savior as the "goal of all creation". So if we're sticking with the sun, moon, and stars theme, the Savior is the sun. We're more around the stars level, and we probably know a few moons.
We know the scriptures teach us how to be more like the Savior. They teach us His gospel and His commandments. The scriptures teach us how to become suns, and this is why they don't teach about goals. The Lord doesn't have goals. He has purpose and a plan. To me, the word goal suggests the possibility that it might not be acheived. It's something to be aspired to, but may be out of reach. That is not how the Lord operates. With Him, nothing is impossible. He tells us that 'though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled." I don't know how many of us can say that of our words, but Lord certainly can. As we increase in knowledge and faith, as we grow from stars to moons and eventually to suns we reach points where our words, or maybe better said our commitments, will be upheld and accomplished, but we're not there yet.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't set goals now. Stars need to learn to become moons. Moons need to learn to become suns. Part of that learning process is setting a goal and working to accomplish it. We may not get there every time, but we will get better every time we try. Don't give up. To quote an LDS hymn, "there is hope shining brightly before us". And to quote Proverbs 4:18, "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day".
When we reach that perfect day, it will be just fine to have no goals. When we reach the goal of all creation our own goals will be replaced by purposes. For now, it's good enough to be a star but remember that brighter days are in your future.
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