What's Wrong with Setting Goals
Can you now see the wisdom of the
words: “Seek first the Kingdom
of God and His right way,
and all other things will be added unto you?”
Christ exhorts us to make our
Creator and His right way most important--first, last, and always. If you seek
to do what you know is right in your heart—making it at all times and in all
places and in every moment more important than anything else, then you can know
no frustration. You won't have to decide anymore or face dilemmas. You will
have made THE choice—to submit to your Creator's will instead of seeking your
own will.
You see, when you seek your own
will, seducers and manipulators notice what your desire is, and they rise to
the occasion of offering to answer your needs.
When you seek your Creator's
will, then you come under His authority. And when you are under His authority,
you are no longer under the worldly motivator's authority.
It's a strange thing about
time—time should be a benevolent source of a substance we need to accomplish
anything. In the material creation, things come to fruition in time. The end
intended then comes to pass through cause leading to effect. One precedes the
other in sequence. And the awareness of the sequence, one after another, gives
the reference points by which we measure time.
If you intended something, and
you knew that it would come to pass for sure, and if you knew that it was God's
will, then there would be no anxiety, no worry, and no pressure, because you
would be certain of a happy fulfillment.
Even more fun would be if you
were certain that the Creator's will would be done, and you knew that you were
doing His will for each moment, but you did not know what the outcome would be
or when it would be, you could simply live care-free moment by moment doing
what is right and then waiting with joy for the surprise happy outcome.
When the good came to pass, it
would be a joyous surprise (like a birthday present), yet all along you knew
that something good would happen, you just didn't know what it would be.
It all depends on intent. But you
might say, “I have had the right intent, but things didn't work out.” First of
all, you must not make a goal of “doing good.” If so, then this goal, leads to
putting your will into it, with the usual frustration, time pressure, and
resentment. Your will then becomes a pressure to others. The goal (and
accompanying preplanning and attempt to have some effect or make some
impression) ruins your timing and robs you of spontaneity.
Jesus often warned the people
about doing things to make an impression on others. He also often warned us not
to be hypocrites. Do you see the connection? Having a goal of being good or
doing good results in doing things for effect and effect on others.
Your intent must be to be ready
to do what you know is right in your heart for each moment. In other words, as
I go through life and approach a situation, I do not know what the good is. I
watch and wait. I check with my intuition. Sometimes nothing is required.
Sometimes a word, deed or gesture may be needed. I just act or speak
spontaneously, flowing from intuition, and the action is right.
If you over analyze, ambitiously plan
in advance, or use some pre digested formula—you will mess it up. The innocence,
the sweetness, and the power will be absent. Instead an ego would be laboring
for effect.
Life is subtle and involves
timing. There are not enough books in the world to detail the perfect action
for any delicate moment with your loved ones, for example. You need guidance--just
in time guidance—the kind that comes from within, in the moment, when you get
your ego out of the way, not knowing what to, but wishing with all your heart
to do the right thing. With this attitude, you will suddenly know what to do.
If doing what is right, but not
really knowing in advance what the “right” is in any particular situation, is
your sincere intent, then you may simply go about your life, living humbly,
quietly, not given to prediction, not seeking selfish advantage, and not
seeking to make any impression on others. In most moments of your life, nothing
is required of you. In this respect, doing right often means not doing wrong.
Going the right way means not going the wrong way. Doing the Creator's will
means not doing other's will.
Remember, whenever you move under
pressure, you are obeying another's will. That's why if you respond to the
pressure of another's praise or the pressure of their criticism, then you are
moving hypnotically.
When something becomes too important—more
important than seeking to quietly realize what is right for that moment—then
you have a goal directed consciousness, which will lead to your striving to
attain.
Remember Christ's words
concerning doing good: He said "let not your right hand know what your
left hand is doing."
Can you see what innocence is? It
is moving spontaneously without thought of the outcome. Children are naturally
innocent. That's why their honest speech and lack of self consciousness are so
sweet.
There are also adults who are
naturally innocent—often scientists, who love discovering truth, move
innocently, such as people like Thomas Edison (who often forgot his umbrella)
or Einstein blithely riding his bicycle.
What makes us self conscious is
the ego appeal of the gaze directed at us by others who question our motives
and seek to confuse us. Wrong, impatient, or ambitious people hate innocence,
and so they try to draw attention to yourself with praise, criticism, or blame.
They know that once they can make
you self conscious—embarrassed, ashamed, angry, and resentful—you will then
seek to move to alleviate the feeling.
They also know that if they can
make you doubt yourself, you will become confused and unsure, and they can
continue to dominate you.
Natural innocence is nice, but
you need to go beyond it to find spiritual innocence. The angels are innocent.
And because they are, they immediately acknowledge truth. And because they have
no will of their own, other than to do God's will, they only bear goodwill
toward their neighbor. They do good unawares, being not self conscious of
themselves as an operator. In fact, they even know that when they do good, it
is not of themselves.
Can you see how this fundamental
realization saves them from pride (which also makes us self conscious in a most
unfortunate way, alienating us from the good)?
In order to find innocence, you
must give up your goals and striving. Relax and wait patient for the wind of
the spirit to move you.
