Goals

There are four basic kinds of goals, which I call End Goals, Process Goals, Wish Goals and Concrete Goals. They are really two pairs of two goals.

The first pair, End and Process Goals, are different in relation to time. End Goals are a one-time event, but Process Goals are ongoing. For example if want to be a runner, my end goal may be to run a race such as a 5k or a marathon. Once it is run, the goal is accomplished. In order to train for the marathon, I need to run daily or 5x a week or 3x a week. That is a process goal. I need to do the practice or training or process goal in order to complete the end goal. Another example is studying for a test at school. Studying and going to class is the process, and the test and the grade are the end goal.

The second pair are somewhat like the difference between right brain and left brain. The first believes in the unlimited power of the mind and wishes for anything as if you had a genie who could grant you anything. The other is to set goals that you know you can acheive and that are measurable. I call the first kind of goal, Wish Goals, and the second kind of goal, Concrete Goals.

For example, a wish goal is to win a race. That is not something we can control. A concrete goal is to run the mile in 4 min. Not achievable for all of us, but if we did, we would have the best chance to win the race.

I feel that both are valuable tools for mental training. Wish Goals are valuable for their emotional impact. Concrete goals help keep us on-track one step at a time.

Emotions should not be underestimated. The word contains another word within it, MOTION. Emotions are what drive us to act and do. The dictionary definition of Power is the ability to do or act. Emotions are the source of all our power.

If Wish Goals take us to heaven, Concrete goals bring us down to Earth. Concrete goals are specific, measurable and within our ability now. It's by doing what we can do now that we move in the direction of our wish goal.

If you look at your goals, or listen to other people's goals, they will fall into one of these categories. The point is not to say that one kind of goal is better than another, but to make what is coming out unconsciously into a conscious effort to accomplish the goal. What we want to do then, is integrate the four ways of goal setting into one. And one way to integrate our different types of goals is through a story, the story of our own success.