“For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued, it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.” – Viktor Frankl
We all have goals we aspire to. But sometimes this aspiration becomes an attachment and we are unable to let go of our goals even if we have achieved them or have realized that they no longer serve us. This prevents us from moving forward in life.
So how can you have goals, which are so important and yet be detached from them? To achieve this detachment we need to do the following:
- Have crystal clear clarity of goals – Often our dreams and ideas remain just that, vague bits of thought floating purposelessly in our mind-space. Having crystal clear goals is the first step in actualizing them. So write down your goals in graphic detail right down to the feeling you want to experience once you achieve them. This way you formalize your goals and lend them substance. And once you have a clear vision of what your goals look like, break it down into annual, six monthly, monthly, weekly mini-goals. This imparts a sense of immediacy and commitment to your goals.
- Understand that goal should be larger than self – When we confine our goals to our self, we limit their scope to the limited interpretation of our self, including our perceived strengths and weaknesses. But once we release them to the universe and tie in their effect to the whole world we invite the universe to support their fruition with its unlimited abundance. This also relieves the fear we generally attach to the outcome and frees up energy for the task at hand.
- Have confidence that the achievement of the goals is the done deal – The law of attraction states that like attracts like, or energy seeks a similar energy – meaning that if we are feeling despondent, we attract people and situations that are despondent, thus further increasing our misery. The reverse is also true. If we mirror or personify the crux of what we desire, we increase our chances of attracting it. This doesn’t mean faking our feelings – it means looking for situations and people in our life that exemplify that experience for us. For example, if you are looking for a job, ask yourself: What do I want from my dream job? Maybe feelings of success, or personal accomplishment, or a channel to explore your talent. Once you have identified those feelings, explore avenues to experience them. Maybe volunteering your skills, or taking a refresher course to enhance your skills, or simply practicing might be good ways to heighten your feelings. Once you start living out your core feelings, you will start to attract situations and incidents to support your desire.
- Ensure a singular focus on the task or assignment at hand – Singularity of focus is the most important reason for success, because we only achieve what we focus our attention on. And attention is a scarce resource. The more distracted we get, the more energy we waste and weaken the outcome. Meditation is a good way to attain focus.
- Savor the journey – Irrespective of our journey, we are going to be on this path only once, meaning this very moment, this very place, this very state of mind will never co-exist ever again. And the moment to experience all of this is right now. If we do not savor this moment we have lost it forever. So learn from it and revel in it.
Excerpt from our latest book, ‘What You Seek is Seeking You’, co-authored by Azim Jamal & Brian Tracy. Read more about the book @ https://blog.corporatesufi.com/books/what-you-seek-is-seeking-you/