The danger of a goal

I re-read a blog post I like called "The best goal is no goal" this morning, which in turn got me thinking about the difference between a goal and a vision.

Viktor Frankl, in his classic book "Man's Search For Meaning", tells the story of a fellow inmate in the same concentration camp as him, who tells Viktor of his dream that the war will be over for him (the other inmate) by a certain date a few months in advance.

When the date is about to arrive and it's clear that nothing is going to happen, the fellow inmate falls ill, goes downhill rapidly and dies from typhoid the following day after his predicted date of escape.

Having very clear solid goals, whilst very motivating when striving towards them, can have the complete opposite effect and be the source of despondency when we have gone past them and are looking backwards having not achieved them.

And we all know that life cannot be predictable at the best of times.

Think of those poor people on a journey in their cars on the M5 the other day, who never completed their expected journeys.

For me, a vision is less structured than a goal, it doesn't necessarily have a definite end date, and often, although the 'what' of the goal may be reasonably clear, the 'how' is evolving as you move along.

A good vision also releases attachment to the 'how' with a liberal dose of curiosity, such as "That's not at all what I expected. I wonder how that can still help me achieve my vision?"