Set Unattainable Goals

We’ve all heard, and possibly pondered the question: “Is there life after death?” Well, here’s another somewhat similar question for you to think about: Is there life after ‘the dream’ has been accomplished? Have you ever taken the time to think about what life would be like after you’ve achieved your goal(s)? Chances are that you’ve thought as far as the overall enjoyment of life due to the achievement of your vision of success, but what this question is really getting at is: Have you thought about how you will keep yourself motivated about life after achieving the things that you have set out to? Essentially…what will keep you from totally letting yourself go, giving up on life and becoming a zombie…or even worse…a corporate robot?

Most recently, I’ve been really thinking about some people that I know – acquaintances that shall remain nameless (due to my personal goal of self preservation). Now these people seemed to have set out in full speed in the beginning…gone to great lengths in order to obliterate mountains, and made one, possibly two amazing dreams into reality. On one hand, it’s great to have seen them achieve so much early on in their 20s, but on the other…it’s sad to see that life for them is essentially over. I’m sure that you can think of a few examples of people who made it to fame and just seemingly disappear.

So how do we make life continually be worth living, and maintain a healthy heart and brain throughout the years? Unless you trust yourself enough to continually challenge yourself by making new goals after each accomplishment (kudos to you if you do), the trick may actually be to set at least one humanly possible, but somewhat unattainable goal. Now hear me out. I’m not suggesting that you dive into a world of stress due to an almost impossible goal. What I am suggesting is that you prepare your mind to keep working on maintaining the best version of yourself.

Think of an elderly couple, where the two individuals have been best friends for over 40 years; the couple has done everything together…to the point that when you see one…you see the other. They have lived life with the goal of being with each other until the very end. What happens when the elderly lady passes on? You probably guessed it; the goal, in a sense, is complete, and the elderly gentleman will most likely pass not long after. I’m sure we can all agree that his quick passing isn’t due to old age or even health complications, but simply because in the absence of the journey with his best friend, there is nothing more to live for and his heart truly believes that. Though his passing is majorly due to him grieving the loss of his best friend, and you may not physically die from a lack of goals or motivation, it’s important to note that one can be emotionally, mentally and psychologically dead…in which case, life is essentially over and survival at that point is based on automated tasks, repetitive behavior and routine.

We can survive as robots for quite a while, but is that really living? Humans need to dream; we need to believe that there is something worth living for. If not, we just become the real versions of the walking dead. My friends, do yourselves a favor…keep your hearts and minds active by continually chasing the butterfly in the wind.