How’s your balance? Can you stand on one foot for more than a few seconds? Does it sometimes seem like your life is careening out of your control? That it’s out of balance?
In a previous thoughtletter, I talked about the book Maximum Climbing. The author, Eric Hörst, talks a lot about goal-setting. Do you set goals for yourself? Do you reach them? Why (not)?
Alex Honnold, the world-famous rock climber (and my son), sets it out clearly in his writing. In his world, ’mindfulness’, or ‘purposefulness,’ are synonymous with goal-setting. According to him, these following steps are what make you advance:
• be aware (remember meta-cognition, from the thoughtletter of 4/8/24?)
• set your goal, and
• work toward that conscious goal every day.
Every day.
If you don’t set a goal, you’re not going to get there. Obvious. You might dream about it, wish for it, talk about it – like my mother and her dream book (see my thoughtletters of 1/15/24 and 4/1/24) — but without a concrete, very specific goal, one that you can write down in one short sentence, chances are very slim that you’ll reach it.
When I was young, I dreamed of writing a book. Teaching at a college. Conducting an orchestra. I longed to someday live abroad, to work as a tour guide using my various languages, or at an international airport. Those dreams have all come true – because I didn’t just dream about them. That’s the key; all my life, a series of conscious, constant, correctly-organized small steps made them happen.
When I was older, I dreamed of marriage and a family of my own (done). Much older still, I wondered whether I could run a marathon (done), or climb rocks outdoors (done, and then some! — I’m the oldest woman so far to ever climb Yosemite’s El Capitan).
Over the last decade, my life has moved into a new, physical realm that I’d never dreamed of earlier. Since about 1971, I’ve always found great joy in traveling this fascinating planet — but lately my trips usually include a physical goal, like rock climbing or hiking or running. Goals require balance; sometimes they can be combined, but always keeping balance in mind.
(Balance has always been part of my life: here’s my grandfather’s scale, from the little store he had in Hazleton, Pennsylvania in the early 1900s, pictured here weighing some of Hazleton’s local anthracite coal. He knew about balance. Always balance.)
Because just as important as setting the goal for yourself is the ability to keep your goals and your life in balance. Do you work more hours than you live? Is your work your life? Do you spend more hours in the online universe than interacting with real people? To balance your life, you need to equalize some of those numbers.
What’s important to you? What have you always dreamed of doing? As improbable as it seemed that I’d ever have my own orchestra, since I had no formal training to do so, once those cosmic circles collided and the geographical opportunity presented itself (when we moved to a place that had no local classical music), I made a specific plan — a goal — and moved ahead with it, tiny step by tiny step, all organized by Categories. And so the West Sacramento Community Orchestra (click for its story) was born — and still continues today, with a different conductor.
Goals, and balancing those goals with everyday life — that’s where true satisfaction lies.
I wish you lots and lots of satisfaction!
As always, brilliant! :-)
Transitioning from the comfort of the online community many of us found during the pandemic has been very hard for me. I think some conscious steps are going to be necessary to continue to move myself forward. Sometimes seeing those steps laid out can be overwhelming and discouraging. Choosing to continue despite that anxiety is the first mind shift I need to make. Thank you.