Are you goals and dreams born out of inspiration or desperation? It’s possible you’ve never considered it – I haven’t, but now I’m questioning everything.
I started reading Don’t Believe Everything You Think and today I read the chapter on this idea of desperation versus inspiration. The basic idea is that we create goals and chase certain dreams in our life, but one type empowers you while the other digs you deeper into a whole of negativity.
When a goal is born out of desperation, you feel something is lacking in your life and that the only way to fill that void is through external accomplishments and validation. You can have a goal to make a lot of money, but really it stems from your feeling of insecurity, fear, or comparison to others. You can strive to be in a loving relationship, but it can simply be your inability to feel valuable, a feeling of worthlessness, or loneliness. Any goal or dream can form from desperation depending on the emotions associated.
An inspired goal is one that comes from nowhere and fills your being with excitement. There may be no reason at all for your desire other than to accomplish something. You can have the dream of being an artist full time simply because you love doing it, not because you want money or fame. You can desire to get in insane shape because you love the challenge of forming habits and consistency. Dreams of inspiration come from deep within you and don’t require any external validation to be pursued.
Reading about these differences made me think a lot about my own goals and which I’m committing to out of inspiration and which out of desperation. Those that are desperation should be forgotten because you have to realize the externalities you’re looking for are already within you, no one and nothing else can give you them. Inspired goals are the ones to focus on and act on every day. These are the goals that will keep you motivated because you’re doing them for you, you’re doing them because you want to.
Before discovering this difference, all your goals may feel the same except when you pursue them, one feels empowering while the other feels draining. By chasing external validation out of negative emotions, you will never find what you’re looking for. You may accomplish the goal but still feel like nothing changed. In these cases, you have to look inward and discover what you actually desire and how you can find it within yourself to feel like who you are and what you have is enough.
Reconsider all the goals you have right now. Which are coming from a place of desperation and which are you truly inspired to pursue? Focus on those that empower you. Choose those that feel right.
November 19, 2024
