Got your life planned out? Really?
One of my favourite scenes from the Movie ‘Finding Nemo’ is this:
To me, it epitomizes the purpose we set for our lives.
From when we are young, we set ourselves targets. We must achieve this. We should earn this much. We should be in such and such position.
We’re saving up for a house. We’re saving up for a car. We’re saving up to buy that new phone / gadget / gizmo.
We tailor our lives to target these goals and work tirelessly to achieve them.
We get so caught up in the process, that the only thing that matters to us is the destination. At the expense of sounding clichéd we ‘don’t enjoy the journey’.
The funny thing is that the day you achieve the target, you’re thrilled to bits. The sense of achievement is immense. But that’s only temporary. Because in a matter of days you’re left with the thought…
“So… now what?”
I don’t know if you would agree with me, but many times, when your single minded focus is to work extra hard and extra long to achieve a target, the joy you feel at achieving it, is not as great as you thought it would be.
Despite the pride at having achieved what you set out to, there is emptiness in the celebration. A lack of inner satisfaction, when you realize that it is not something that you will carry with you, once your time in this world is over.
So should you stop planning? By all means, NO! You really can’t achieve anything without planning.
But every plan needn’t be materialistic.
While planning, make sure to include goals that will give help you grow as a person.
Goals that will purify and evolve your soul… not just your conscious and external world.
Because some day, it is all that will matter.
photo credit: Nina Matthews Photography via photopin cc
Comments