Frasch Ideas—Examine, Inquire, Explore

Secret #1

• Posted by Theresa on March 14th, 2006 filed in Book Review, Goals, Goal-Free Living

I am reading the book Goal-Free Living slowly and contemplatively. I thought I’d explore one “secret” at a time, mull it over for awhile, let it sink in.

These are thoughts from the introduction:

“Imagine the burden of struggling to achieve a future success being lifted from your shoulders.”

“Imagine playing with possibility and making your dreams a reality.”

“Don’t plan the next step. Rather let it evolve and enjoy the process.”

I was talking with my friend Kim at Curves yesterday about these thoughts. We have both been striving to get somewhere. We agreed these thoughts are very freeing…relaxing…and yet they build anticipation in looking for new opportunities.

I should note that the author does say, “A life without absolutely any goals may not be desirable or even possible.” And, “Use goals sparingly and have a healthy relationship to them.” Balance, of course is the key. That and common sense.

Secret #1 Use a compass, not a map.

Choose a direction to take in life without defining a specific destination. Allow your life to take twists and turns and to evolve over time. Live in the moment while creating many paths of possibilities.

Life is not about efficiency. Life is about exuberance.

Here are the thoughts that spoke to me:

You must have the courage to be willing to change directions often, finding new paths along the way.

Have a sense of direction in life, and then move forward experientially.

Get out and explore, try new things, meet new people - live your life through each experience.

Do more of the things that you like and less of the things that you don’t.

Some suggestions for living without a map:

In a way I have done this with my goal of being a public speaker. It is what I call trying to get there through the back door. But because none of these ways have worked, I have felt like a failure. What if instead I had looked at each opportunity as moving me closer, giving me experience, teaching me new things? What if I had looked at each event as an opportunity to learn and move me closer instead of looking at each one as another failure?

There is no such thing as failure, only feedback.

As long as you try your best, there is no such thing as failure.

What do you think of his ideas so far? About failure? About living life without goals? Please comment.