Marathon-BridgeThis year, instead of primarily setting goals, I decided to go for themes. If you find the word theme confusing, then think focus word.

So far, for most of my big goals, there was always a chance that something could go wrong last minute and cause a major setback. It’s just life; there is always something that can and will go wrong. As a result, you can never really relax and be content before you completed your mission.

Let’s think binary for a moment. A “1” indicates success and a “0” the lack thereof. Your life in goals looks like this:

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Many zeros. Most of the time you have not accomplished your goal. It is simply because a goal is a destination and not a state.

For example, if you had “completing a marathon” as your goal, then obviously only the last step across the finish line realizes it. All the training and miles will only count if you do this last step.

The picture changes when you pick the theme “running”. Now every minute you spend running is a success. Your life in themes easily looks like this:
1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0.

This is no reason to do away with goals. Themes act as guideposts even when your goals seem out of sight. They give you a feeling of accomplishment and something to stick to even when you are not sure what your next goal should be. If your theme is running, chances are good it will eventually lead to you completing your first marathon.

photo: image (license)