Pursuing your goal is good but........

If you browse the Internet, you will find endless materials that emphasize on the importance of having goals and striving to achieve them. But on a number of occasions, you may have certainly wondered if you are doing a great disservice to yourself by focusing too much on achieving your goal. Precisely put, you are wasting your life by imagining about the alluring promise of an undefinable land called "future." Unfortunately, such promised lands may not exist at all, not to talk of reaching them. 

In his essay entitled "The Station," Robert J. Hastings metaphorically describes that everyone of us is traveling by a mystical train called life. We will be continuing our journey with the anticipation and belief that we will be arriving at a station when the train takes the next bend. We keep imagining that the station will be beautiful and will provide a panacea that may solve all the problems of our life. We may also imagine that when we arrive at the station, a big crowd will be waiting to cheer and wave at us and our favorite band will be there playing our favorite music. This imaginary experience itself will fill our mind with joy.

Unfortunately, all this may remain just a fantasy because there may not be any such station when the train takes the next bend. In other words, the moments that we think will  provide a panacea for our problems will never arrive. That is the reason philosophers advise that you must live in the present. Simply put, it is impossible to define your future. Today is the only reality.

Remember the wise words of Voltaire who cautioned, “Do not anxiously expect what has not yet come.  Do not vainly regret what has already past.” Kay Lyons has simplified Voltaire's statement by saying, “Yesterday is a cancelled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have, so spend it wisely.” As far as your future is concerned, there is no need to focus on it because it does not need your help to arrive. Not only that, it seems to have the irritating habit of arriving much ahead of the time when you expect it to arrive.

Coming back to your life's goals, it is always wise to follow the principle of moderation, however lofty and admirable you think your goals are. By focusing on the day when you will be achieving your goals, you will be losing sight of the beauty and meaning of today. Not only that, there are chances that when you reach your goals, you may be wondering "is this for which I worked so hard?"

In other words, when you keep focusing on your goals, you may be missing out on your life itself. So, find the purpose as well as the meaning of your day-to-day life and try to enjoy it the most. Though it is true that you will feel happy when you achieve your goals, do not forget to enjoy the journey as well.

Yet another point you must not lose sight of is that you are not capable of changing the inevitable. On the other hand, it is possible to change your attitude towards the present. Therefore, cherish today's moments and concentrate on what you are at now.