Everything Starts with a Goal

everything is possible - Audrey Hepburn

I want to start with a quote from Audrey Hepburn, “everything is possible.” What does that even mean, and what does it have to do with goals in general?

We take a lot of things for granted, and these things are fun to us. We often do things that are habits now and things from other people. Some of these things have clear reasons that are essential to survival. For example, we wash our hands with soap and use towels or air blowers to dry our hands to avoid health problems that deal with our hands. We use our phones daily to connect with the people we know in case of emergency, work, family, etc. These things are norms in primarily western countries (this information is what I know from my experiences. I do know a bit more than that, but this sentence is the best I can express the spread of these two things), and they are generally helpful. Sure, we can get distracted in inappropriate situations, like using a phone in class. Still, it doesn’t matter in my grand scheme of things.

But you’re reading this and not thinking about being unhealthy from not washing your hands. Instead, you’re wondering what you will be in life.? You’re wondering what you are going to do in life. And you’re wondering how you will achieve something you always want to do in life. So the first thing we should look at is the tasks we have.

I cannot address a situation to every person so I will generalise a bit. When we work every day or when we are together with our family. Do we think about why we do this task? Do we think about what is the reason behind every job we do? Or do we do that task because it is necessary?

At work, do we work to earn more money and more? What is the point of making more money? Do we need that money to support the children in school or earn enough for the next trip to Switzerland? If we don’t necessarily want more money, do we work to get to the top of the Corporate ladder and become a leader? Or do we work to push the people around us forward? Or do we work because our close people would get angry if we don’t?

Each task has a reason. Even the two jobs prior mentioned have a reason. S, therefore, we have a reason. Unfortunately, our time constraints, pacing, and distractions distract us from finding a well-defined sense of our work. Some people say that their one piece of work makes everybody’s job. For example, in my case, my YouTube channel fuels my other things, like my work as an emerging recording artist, a writer (like what I’m doing right now), and other things I cannot tell you right now. But really, we cannot make any progress right now without a goal. So what is a dream?

What is a goal means? What are you going to do in your life? It is an objective or target all humans try or fail to reach. Although this definition sounds like a broken record, we have to emphasise the idea of a goal that targets to achieve. But I don’t think this definition is enough for us to start. So, I’ll make an example for you.

Let’s say our goal is to have more free time. And we get more free time when we master time management. Although time management is a complex topic, and I’ve probably written many related articles, it is something everyone should do. The fundamental part of time management has goals and daily tasks. Regardless of your dreams, it would be best to have enough sleep and time to brush your teeth, find ways to eat foods at different times and deal with money. You should have a calendar to suit your time to the best. You should probably have a tier list of things, like the Eisenhower Matrix (tasks organised intofour4 categories: must do and can finish quickly, must do but cannot end soon, not required to do and can complete quickly, and do not do) - it can be probably explained better with a picture. Finally, you should execute your new time management plan and have more free time.

But we are now facing another problem. Why do we need all this free time? The question of why we are doing this is a complicated question to solve. It relates to your goal, and it goes deeper than what your goals are. I couldn’t even solve this question myself. So I’ll tell you what I mean.

My primary goal is to make multi-million dollar animated and live-action films with experiences that can help educate the viewers (probably you reading this blog right now) on the world around them and change their interpretation of themselves. But the purpose of getting the ability to make multi-million dollar films is a struggle for me to answer. I consider the downsides of making films in general: the pressure of always thinking about the movie every single day, even in inappropriate situations, the stress of always trying to be on budget while attempting to make the best film, and the pressure of always cooperating with everyone and coordinating their actions to make the best performance possible. And even when I believe myself to live with the downsides, I still doubt the little mistakes I make daily. I don’t even receive the amount of praise for my hard work, which probably will never happen for a reasonable amount of time. If you’re asking me for an answer quickly (you’re probably asking me in that fashion), I want to find meaning in this world and explain what people should know about to make and change the world for the next generation. This answer is not my favourite because this purpose is not unique (Shakespeare, Lamar, and Spielberg have similar goals), and it has all kinds of uncertainties from some random human like me.

I couldn’t even solve this question myself

Returning to the free time example, you may appreciate having less free time. I will probably spend time writing the article as part of this paragraph. I couldn’t even define what free time is. Free time is when you do not have to work and can do anything you want. I could consider writing this article, making music, and making YouTube videos in my free time. But I don’t believe them, and not everyone agrees. I consider these things as work that can help me achieve my goals, and they should take the most time, along with my studying. But for you, free time may be the time to watch your favourite Netflix show. It’s a thing full of colours; you make whatever definition you want. I’m saying that the goal must have a well-defined reason that you can do anything to strive for and you’re proud to show it to yourself. And that goal is something you’re proud to teach others seeking to be like you. And if the dream doesn’t have a well-defined reason, it should have a reason you can stick with and will do anything to achieve it. At this point, I would like you to have a notepad (I recommend a physical notebook that is around 3 inches in length, but you can use a digital one from your phone) and write your goal, promising yourself to achieve that goal. Now that you have that goal for a practical reason, you have a solid foundation to manage your time, and I hope you can achieve your goals.

Without a goal, we are stuck, and we don’t have the determination to work. So, I hope you have a purpose and can do something with the new advice in this blog.

Although we cannot achieve everything (if you interpreted Audrey’s quote literally), we have what it means to do everything we can to move an inch in the world and do everything we want, and this article is the basis of how to get there.

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I’ve been uploading blogs every month (usually later than last month), and that’s because this activity has been at the bottom of my list for me. I focus so much on schoolwork because my heavy courseload is the higher priority. And good grades matter for me to work well in the workplace. Because the coursework has gotten more challenging, including the demand for household activities, most of my passion projects are now on the back burner. When I have time for passion projects, I can only do one or the other and have one for another day. So, I may not practise the guitar in one day, not write a blog for a week, or not practise the piano for a week for good sleep (I don’t have a good sleep) or study. So, I don’t upload blogs often because I must focus on academics. And I don’t know if I can post more often.

I can work on improving the consistency of the writing process of the blog. It’s crucial to have a manageable goal. Lately, I have had days where I can write 4000 words and finish the blog, but I mostly have days where I don’t have anything to write a blog about. So, I plan to write around 50-100 words daily to get a feel for the idea. And that’s all I have for this article, and I’ll see you in the following article.