Every story has at least one of each of these elements: Character, Conflict and Goal. (We made a video that goes into more depth about this. LINK)
The Self Narrate Process of personal story development focuses on defining what each of those elements means in your life. Lately, “Goals” has been the source of much discussion in the workshops that we lead. We’ve heard statements such as “this is making me realize I haven’t defined a goal for myself in years.”
Defining a goal and striving for it helps us find meaning in our lives. Viktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search For Meaning, created a form of psychological analysis called Logotherapy. One of the core concepts in Logotherapy is the belief that the primary motivation of human beings is to find meaning in our own lives. The way that we do this is by achieving goals. Clearly defined goals help us to see a purpose for the work that we do. They give us a “why.”
“He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.”
Goals can be lofty or they can be small. If you haven’t made a goal for yourself in a while, start with something small. Think of something you’ve wanted to do for a while, like “learn how to bake a pineapple upside-down cake,” write it on a sticky note, and then do it! Come up with another goal, a bigger goal, and then do it! Once you’ve got momentum, you’ll find that goal setting becomes easier and your goals will likely get larger.
What are your goals? What was the last goal that you achieved? We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below with your story!