What's the Goal?

Hey everyone!

It’s the middle of the week already! Just blink and time will pass you by, eh? It’s beautiful out today and I’m going to go enjoy it, but before I do that, I’ll get some work done. This past Saturday was the first session of the new Pathfinder campaign and I have to say, it was a strong start! I’m feeling great about it. Everyone at the table has plenty of experience with roleplaying games and are bringing their best. The session was largely roleplaying and lore dumping with a tiny bit of combat at the end. Suffice to say, they loved it, and everyone had a fun time. We’ll be playing again Sunday and I can’t wait. Hopefully it comes quick. Before Sunday however, my friends and I will be having a hobbit house dinner on Saturday. From what I’ve read of the place, there’s a firepit outside the hobbit house that we can relax around after the meal, but we’ll see if the weather will be good enough for that. I had a conversation with two of my friends recently as we talked about our goals and future. It’s always turns out to be an interesting conversation and one that I think people should often have with one another. So, without delay, let’s dive into today’s subject. My musings in this post might turn out to be deeper and probably even a little more self-reflective in comparison to the previous posts I’ve made, but that makes it all the more interesting, doesn't it?

I would say that setting goals is probably the most important thing anyone can do. Without goals is there really any growth? Are there any achievements? Does anything get done? In my opinion, without goals nothing gets done. Even something as simple as feeding oneself is a goal. It’s a simple goal to be sure, but it’s still a goal. Everything great that we have today is because of someone setting a goal. Airplanes, monuments, space travel, were all goals. Now I think it needs to be said that goals of that magnitude were not achieved by one person alone. But if someone didn’t set that goal, would those feats have been achieved? I don’t believe so. But these are goals which impact history, but what about our personal goals?

Personal goals are wonderful. Losing weight, putting on muscle, learning a new skill or trade, going back to school. I will always applaud and cheer for people who set out to better themselves. I’ve heard this little saying from multiple people - from friends, family, strangers, and teachers, “If you want to make the world a better place then start with yourself.” I think there’s a lot of truth to that. Looking back on my own experiences, It’s the little victories that got me through some of my hardest trials, and I think we could all use a little victory. Currently for my own goals I’m trying to get myself on a better sleep schedule, lose the weight I’ve gained because of Covid and of course the big one, get my book published. About a year ago my goal was to cut down on the sheer amount of alcohol I was drinking. It wasn’t what I’ve seen of other people who did eventually find themselves battling the demon that is alcoholism, but I was on the slippery slope that leads to it. I’m happy to say that I’m treating myself and my liver far better than I was. As to my weight loss I’m proud to say that I’m down about ten pounds from where I was at the end of November. I still have more to lose, however. My goal is to lose another twenty pounds by summertime. I admit I haven’t had as much success with fixing my sleep schedule. Two in the morning tends to be my bedtime. Unfortunately, as that tends to be my best time for writing, I end up having to choose between my work or sleep.

In my conversation with my friends about goals I was asked, “When do you know you’ve made it?” I’ve often asked myself this question in my own words, “At what point will I able to say I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished? When can I tell myself it’s okay to relax? When can I wake up knowing I’ve done something that I consider worth doing?” I have envisioned my perfect life almost daily. I understand that it’s not realistic and I wouldn’t be able to have everything I envision but it keeps me working towards my goals. But I admit there are days where I feel like I’m moving through mud with cinderblocks for shoes. It’s those days where I find myself feeling an annoyance which quickly turns to resentment. I find that the feeling goes away when I can ignore everything and just work on my writing, and that resentment is replaced with a mixture of relief and joy. It’s a strange occurrence and I’m not sure why it happens. If anyone else gets these feelings, please feel free to share in a comment so I know I’m not alone in this.

There was another point that came up in the conversation between my friends and I, “We’re all running a race, but are we running against each other?” I think it’s funny that one of us said no and the other said yes. I didn’t really know. In fact, I’ve been tossing this question around in my head for the past few days now. I’ve come to believe that we’re not racing against each other, but there are people further ahead than us and there are people behind us. But it’s not a race against each other. We’re racing against time. There’s only so much we can achieve before our time here is up. I don’t believe that we should be worrying about how much more someone else has done or how ahead of everyone else we are. But I do believe we should look to study and possibly emulate what other people have done to achieve their goals and get as far as they have.

I need to go for a walk and enjoy the weather before it turns to cold and snow again, so I’ll wrap this up. I want to wish all of you the best of luck in achieving your goals and getting to the place in life that you want to be. If you’re trying to improve yourself in any way, know that I’m cheering you on. Thanks for reading and have a great one!

Best regards,

Aaron Kirby