The Danger Of Future-Thinking
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Student Life

The Danger Of Future-Thinking

Goals are good (to an extent).

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The Danger Of Future-Thinking
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The importance of dreaming big has been ingrained in my head for as long as I can remember. My mind has since been filled with a variety of goals that have evolved and digressed into what I now see as my ideal future. To get there, my life has been divided into a series of tasks written out as an endless list stretching far into my future. Graduate high school: check. Get into college: check again. Getting my degree is next in line, followed by a career I enjoy and a husband whom I love, etc. Everyone's list varies, but the idea remains the same. Our lives have become, in many ways, a checklist of goals to strive for, achieve and then move on to the next.

These "goals" were initially really beautiful. They started as little seeds that I cultivated and breathed into life. Over time, through many failures and revelations, I've found who I think I want to be and I know the path I must take to get there. This system isn't flawed. In fact, it's fairly efficient. If I can work hard and work hard and work hard some more, I'll arrive at my final destination. Alas, glory awaits me at the end of a long, tiresome journey.

And that's where the problem lies. News flash: Our lives are the long, tiresome journey. That's it. That's what we have. We are ceaselessly working towards our goals with our eyes on our prizes until we get there. And then what? We're at our destination. OK, so then we find a new goal and we press on, and our noses remain firmly on our grindstones until we complete that goal too. Far too often, we are forgetting that what happens between each accomplishment is, in fact, our lives.

So, my advice is to take a step back. Separate yourself from your goals or, at the very least, recognize them for what they are: merely the end result. Dreaming is important. It keeps us focused and driven. It gives us purpose. Dreaming too much is dangerous. If your world revolves only around your final objectives, you will lose sight of what's really important. Your brain will become hardwired with the belief that happiness is just out of your reach. You will always be one step behind. One more goal, one more year, one last push and then you'll find happiness. Then, you'll be whole. You'll find peace.

Change your thought process now. If you always view happiness as something in your future, if you always have some goal to achieve, some person to attain, some feeling to find to make you happy, happiness will never be where you are. Pure bliss is right at your fingertips. It always was. You were just too busy looking ahead to realize it.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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