Drinking Seawater

There are so many great quotes from various distinguished thinkers on the value of a plan. T. Boone Pickins father told him "A fool with a plan will beat a genius with no plan every day of the week." Another I just read was "Show me a clerk with a plan and I'll show you a CEO. SHow me a CEO with no plan and I'll show you a clerk." Didn't catch who it wrote this. Will research and update if I can find it.

The concept is still something I think about daily. Especially important in this age where we have a million distractions ( such as blogs, podcasts, itunes, facebook, etc...) Here's my take.

Going through a day, a week, or a life with no goals leads to destructive self-indulgence. I think we've all noticed that "doing whatever", doing only what comes to mind, and doing only "what you want to do" does NOT lead to fulfillment. And yet it is still our natural tendency. We like to take care of our own needs, seek "satisfaction" by doing, buying, eating whatever we want. My general observation is that this leads to momentary, temporary pleasure, but not to the true sense of pride, confidence and accomplishment that comes from doing the difficult.

If we set goals, we have to consider and plan actions from among a virtually unlimited range of options. Goal-setting leads us to evaluate all these possible directions, and "value" them. It forces us to assess what is "the right" thing to do. When we set goals, if we truly believe in them, we will endure much hardship, discomfort, and inconvenience to attain the goal. In doing so, we often discover or develop new abilities, which we need to overcome some obstacle. This leads to internalized sense of strength, which builds confidence. Often THIS set of experiences end up being more important than the actual attainment of the goal itself.

So in setting and working toward difficult goals we often experience the opposite of the comforts that we will otherwise seek. But the result is actual growth, strength and health. Achieving these qualities gives true comfort. You achieve the opposite of where you started. Whereas constantly seeking immediate "comfort" and "pleasure", we will neither achieve any goal, nor discover what we are truly capable of. We will not build health, but instead suffer illness. I liken this to consuming endless food and sweets in a sedentary lifestyle. Doing so will cause you to gain weight, lose strength, and probably develop diabetes or worse. So again, we seem to achieve the opposite of what we initially take as our first steps.

Saying another way, seeking only self-fulfillment, and the lazy path, is like drinking seawater. It is wet but it will only make you more thirsty.