Goals Upon Goals Upon Goals

In an I, Me, My world, don’t forget to look for signs of We

We’re running a little late today and that’s ok… these publishing deadlines are an arbitrary goal set by me for me, and sometimes it pays to be flexible with my time. In today’s case, that flexibility paid off when I happened by someone else’s creation on the track that I have been going to each morning to walk.

I set goals nearly every day. Goals about what to accomplish or how many steps to get or how many articles to publish. Then there are the bigger goals about health, my tiny cabin construction, financial and philosophical milestones, etc. You get the picture. And every day I work towards those goals, sometimes reaching them, sometimes pushing the self-imposed deadline down the line to give myself a little grace. At the end of the day those these are all about ME and what I want to achieve… doing the work today so I can live the life I envision for myself tomorrow, and that’s all well and good, but it runs the risk of making my life completely self-indulgent.

On my walk this morning I saw that someone over the weekend had taken the time to craft a very seasonally-appropriate “Finish” line halfway up the track. Not at the beginning or at the end, but neatly halfway up. I had already gone three laps around before I looked down at my feet and realized it was a word and it literally stopped… me… in… my.. track. Pun intended.

In this daily race to set and meet my own goals, along with the isolated nature of my hermit life in the woods these days, it’s easy to get lost in worshiping at the altar of “I, Me, and My”, chasing only what matters to me. This little “finish” line in the middle of my workout reminded me that there are entire lives playing out all around me, even if I don’t see or interact with them. Other people who have their own goals. Other people whose perception of “enough” could be vastly different from mine, and it got me thinking… when was the last time I put my focus and effort towards helping someone else reach a goal of their own? Not just someone I’m in a relationship with, but the community at large. How long has it been since I pitched in at the village of “We” instead of solely focusing on the temple of “Me”?

I never see anyone else at this track, and yet here it is: proof that I am not the only person using it to reach a goal, and what a refreshing reminder!

In this world of self-promotion through social media metrics we tend to focus so much on ourselves that it is easy to forget that we’re not the only ones working towards something. Not the only ones with goals and dreams and struggles and challenges, maybe needing a little push to reach that bell. That finish line.

So today we’re keeping this essay short and sweet so I can pull my head out if the sand and actively look for opportunities to help someone else reach a milestone or achievement that matters to them, without any concern for how it throws off my own itinerary. I’d love to hear of a time you did the same, and how it worked out.