To achieve happiness and fulfill our true potential in life, we need to have a clear vision of our desires, something to aim for – a target or goal. Not the goal of ‘being happy’ or ‘fulfilled’ but goals purely to give shape and purpose to our lives. Having a purpose is a real requirement for a happy life. We will find that once we have a goal to aim for, it will transform the way we feel and think. With a goal, we immediately feel more in control of our lives and our personal power is maximized.
However, it is not the achievement of the goal alone that brings deep happiness; happiness comes from each step on the journey we take towards the achievement of our goals. This is because happiness is always in the here and now, in the present moment, right on the very path we are currently taking. So, even as we are working on our goal we will feel that inner sense of satisfaction and pleasure that is happiness.
The achievement of our goal will lead us onwards, giving us encouragement to expand our horizons yet further, setting other or more ambitious goals. One of the secrets of full and happy life is firstly determine what we want and secondly, with this as a goal, to act upon it to make the goal our reality.
How do we define our goals? The way to define our goals is through asking questions of ourselves. In fact, the quality of our whole life is largely defined by the type of questions we ask ourselves because the type of questions we ask will determine the answers we receive. Eventually we may have goals in place for every area of our lives, from our career, our health, our relationships, personal and spiritual development but to start with, it is best if we concentrate on one particular goal, something we really want: a main goal.
To discover this first goal we are going to contact our inner wisdom, which always speaks the truth and knows what is in our best interests. Our inner wisdom will allow us to clarify our desires and choose that which make us at peace and bring us happiness. In the general hurry and flurry of daily life it is easy to neglect our inner wisdom but, despite our preoccupation with our busy life, our inner wisdom is still there within us, just waiting for us to quieten and listen to its enlightened voice. In answer to our question, this voice may reply to us in actual words or pictures in our head, sounds or subtle sensations of some kind from our body, flashes of intuition, or even just a simple ‘knowing’. Nurture our ability to listen to ourselves, as contact to our inner wisdom is our greatest source of power and strength.
Going through the process of searching for and working towards our goals requires a great input of energy, as does any change. We may find the whole process a real challenge. This is because we are currently living within our comfort zone and moving outside of that zone can be distinctly uncomfortable for a while. Changing something means taking risks to some degree or other. Not doing anything, but accepting the status quo, means we stay in our comfort zone. We could regard the comfort zone rather like a bubble surrounding us. Inside the bubble everything is known like the activities we normally do.
To move out of our comfort zone bubble we face risks and challenges – we think we might make mistakes, be let down, be emotionally upset, get tired, lose money or feel ‘not good enough’ in some way. Inside the comforting enclosed world of ‘staying the same’ we avoid those fears. Although living inside the bubble we are cushioned from some fear and mishaps, we are totally limiting and restricting ourselves and it actually stops us from achieving the things we want – and we will find that fear and mishaps have a nasty habit of sneaking in anyway. The comfort zone has the capacity to contract so much that we barely dare step outside; it also has the potential to expand infinitely.
By pushing against the walls of our comfort bubble and bringing new and challenging elements into our lives, our comfort zone expands. When we push against the walls of our bubble often enough any new activity soon becomes easy, the apprehension evaporates and our bubble grows. The confidence generated by our success also increases and spreads to support us in other new areas of endeavor. The more we push, the bigger our comfort zone becomes, our world increases and we become more outgoing and confident as we push through our fears and doubts. Of course every one of us needs the basic security of a comfort zone but to do things we really want to do and to release ourselves from situations we don’t want, we need to push the walls of the bubble to reach the bigger, exciting and fulfilling world, which is even more comfortable and enjoyable.
The one thing we can be sure of is that our fears evaporate as we face them. Next time we feel the tingle of fear, apprehension or doubt, feel it, ignore it and then do what we want to do and watch how the tingle disappears and see how our bubble of familiarity, comfort, confidence and security expands.
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