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Do you set a goal and go after it, or do you just live life one day at a time?

xisnotx

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Do you set a goal and go after it, or do you just live life one day at a time and see where it takes you?

So far, I've been doing the latter and I guess this is where it has taken me. Honestly, looking around, I have no right to complain about anything...I have a lot going for me. But it's looking like the whole "living life on a whim" thing is starting to not pan out as much as I would have liked. It turns out my "whims" are mostly centered around being lazy and enjoying the ride. Practical things like.... acquiring food, clothes, shelter...as they don't seem to just produce themselves out of thin air...I find myself needing to actually apply some effort into acquiring them.

So, my question, really, is....how do you balance the "going after it" mindset with the "taking it easy" one?

Is the life lived constantly on the go in the pursuit of self set goals better than the one devoted exclusively to taking life as it comes?

I think one of my biggest fears is looking back at 75 and realizing I should have done it all differently. The good thing with having no goals is having nothing to fail at. The bad thing with having no goals is having nothing to do, just waiting around for death (though in essence that's all we all are doing...but I'm talking more about the meantime. I have a good 60 years or so before that happens...and 60 years is (quite literally, lol) forever for me). Goals also open up the possibility of failure, and I'm not sure which would be worse...the looking back and realizing you failed at your goals (and therefore a significant part of "life") or the looking back and realizing you should have been setting goals and have more or less drifted along life without doing anything.

So yeah, how do you balance the two (concerns)?
 

Coriolis

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Do you set a goal and go after it, or do you just live life one day at a time and see where it takes you?

So, my question, really, is....how do you balance the "going after it" mindset with the "taking it easy" one?

Is the life lived constantly on the go in the pursuit of self set goals better than the one devoted exclusively to taking life as it comes?
I have always lived with goals, usually long-term goals that will take years to accomplish (e.g. education, career). These are like the lighthouse on the coastline. The waves and winds of life might buffet me back and forth, but my focus ultimately returns to the goals, and guides me back on track. Once I reach a goal, I might rest in the harbor awhile (a short while) before striking out toward the next one.

In my life, I have tried to keep balance among three modes of operation:

1. Progress toward goals, as described above.

2. Awareness of unexpected opportunities that come up along the way that might show me a better way to reach my goals, or even sometimes a more worthwhile goal. I am usually good at seeing and taking advantage of such opportunities.

3. Taking a break from (1) and (2) for rest, recreation, or just to enjoy the here-and-now. Sometimes I have to force myself to do this, almost like taking medicine, but I recognize its necessity and actually do enjoy the time I spend in this manner. Too much, though, and I get antsy that I am being too lazy and not making enough progress on the activities that are important to me.
 

Haight

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So, my question, really, is....how do you balance the "going after it" mindset with the "taking it easy" one?

Is the life lived constantly on the go in the pursuit of self set goals better than the one devoted exclusively to taking life as it comes?

a/ I go after it; however, I give myself a lot of time to get there.

b/ It depends on what you want out of life, and the personality that you have. Meaning, an ExxJ would choose the former, and IxxP would choose the other. Moreover, how materialistic you are, and how endowed your bank account is, will determine how much go-getting you feel you have to do.
 

Such Irony

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Do you set a goal and go after it, or do you just live life one day at a time and see where it takes you?

I guess you could say I have long range goals, call it a 'bucket list' if you will of things I definitely want to accomplish before I die. The problem is that its difficult to put a more concrete plan in action and sometimes there will be something else that is currently of more concern or interest so then I end up doing that thing instead. So there are lots of projects that are on the backburner so to speak.

I'm not really totally comfortable just living one day at a time and seeing where life takes me either. I guess I don't fully trust that if I did this that I'd get around to accomplishing some of the things I want to accomplish. I don't want to be an old person looking back at my life with a bunch of regrets about things I didn't do.

On the other hand, if I'm just moving from goal to goal with everything all planned out with no room for spontaneity, then that's hardly an enjoyable way to live either. Balance is good.

See why I have so much trouble with J/P?
 

miss fortune

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when I was younger I set goals and went after them with a vengeance... then I took a few years and lived life one day at a time... that got me nowhere, but I had some fun... recently I've gone back to setting goals and going after them nearly single mindedly... it's working :cheese:

oddly, it's kind of exhilarating! :holy:
 

highlander

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Do you set a goal and go after it, or do you just live life one day at a time and see where it takes you?

So far, I've been doing the latter and I guess this is where it has taken me. Honestly, looking around, I have no right to complain about anything...I have a lot going for me. But it's looking like the whole "living life on a whim" thing is starting to not pan out as much as I would have liked. It turns out my "whims" are mostly centered around being lazy and enjoying the ride. Practical things like.... acquiring food, clothes, shelter...as they don't seem to just produce themselves out of thin air...I find myself needing to actually apply some effort into acquiring them.

So, my question, really, is....how do you balance the "going after it" mindset with the "taking it easy" one?

Is the life lived constantly on the go in the pursuit of self set goals better than the one devoted exclusively to taking life as it comes?

I think one of my biggest fears is looking back at 75 and realizing I should have done it all differently. The good thing with having no goals is having nothing to fail at. The bad thing with having no goals is having nothing to do, just waiting around for death (though in essence that's all we all are doing...but I'm talking more about the meantime. I have a good 60 years or so before that happens...and 60 years is (quite literally, lol) forever for me). Goals also open up the possibility of failure, and I'm not sure which would be worse...the looking back and realizing you failed at your goals (and therefore a significant part of "life") or the looking back and realizing you should have been setting goals and have more or less drifted along life without doing anything.

So yeah, how do you balance the two (concerns)?

This is a complex question. I've always been a person to set goals and I've done a pretty good job at achieving them. There are times however when I've been too focused on the future and not enough on enjoying what is right in front of me - living in the present. The other thing that is it's important to choose the right goals. It is easy for us to pick goals that are not the most important things and then spend a disproportionate amount of time and sacrifice attempting to achieve them. So, I have been guilty of both of these things. If I could do things differently, I would make some different choices at times. You can't go back to the past though and none of us make perfect decisions.

There is a friend of mine who is completely the opposite. He set no goals. He planned for nothing. He has had a lot of fun. He enjoys racing cars, among other things. Recently he has begun to mention that he regrets not planning more and not having more clear goals because he has no financial resources and is beginning to be concerned that's going to cause him a problem in the future.

I guess somewhere in the middle might be the best place to be.
 

DiscoBiscuit

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My whole life is a plan.

Things don't always go according to plan, but there is always a plan.
 

mujigay

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I set massive long range goals but give myself wiggle room in working towards them.

I don't care if it's plan A, B, C, or even Z that works or maybe even just a spur of the moment thing as long as I get to that place I wanted to be in the end.

The thrill of getting what I envisioned and worked toward is possibly the best feeling in the world.
 

OrangeAppled

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I don't do either...

I have general ideas of what I would like for my future, and I keep my eye out for stuff that seems like it has the potential to meet these.
So I don't really plan, but I'm not living a day at a time either. I definitely have goals, they're just not very specific, because then I feel limited.
I feel like the more open I am to unexpected developments, the more my ideals are met. The more specific & literal my goals are, the more I overlook other ways to meet my ideals, and then I end up frustrated & unfulfilled.
 

FDG

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I have some goals but they're not completely fixed. They change according to the circumstances around me, meaning: if I notice I'm wasting time and/or they're not compatible with what I want out of life, I quickly change my goal/s. I would however find it pretty hard not to have any kind of direction, I would have no basis upon which I could build my choices.
 

Cimarron

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Once in a while, I set grand goals, and work slowly to achieve them. I don't think about it much while I'm doing it, since I know in the back of my mind what the goals are the whole time. After a while, I may feel some stagnation in the "goals" department--maybe because I've reached a barrier, maybe because I've achieved the important parts of it--which is when I might reset and rechart new goals. So it goes in eras, epochs. :nerd:
 
Last edited:

lauranna

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Do you set a goal and go after it, or do you just live life one day at a time and see where it takes you?

So far, I've been doing the latter and I guess this is where it has taken me. Honestly, looking around, I have no right to complain about anything...I have a lot going for me. But it's looking like the whole "living life on a whim" thing is starting to not pan out as much as I would have liked. It turns out my "whims" are mostly centered around being lazy and enjoying the ride. Practical things like.... acquiring food, clothes, shelter...as they don't seem to just produce themselves out of thin air...I find myself needing to actually apply some effort into acquiring them.

So, my question, really, is....how do you balance the "going after it" mindset with the "taking it easy" one?

Is the life lived constantly on the go in the pursuit of self set goals better than the one devoted exclusively to taking life as it comes?

I think one of my biggest fears is looking back at 75 and realizing I should have done it all differently. The good thing with having no goals is having nothing to fail at. The bad thing with having no goals is having nothing to do, just waiting around for death (though in essence that's all we all are doing...but I'm talking more about the meantime. I have a good 60 years or so before that happens...and 60 years is (quite literally, lol) forever for me). Goals also open up the possibility of failure, and I'm not sure which would be worse...the looking back and realizing you failed at your goals (and therefore a significant part of "life") or the looking back and realizing you should have been setting goals and have more or less drifted along life without doing anything.

So yeah, how do you balance the two (concerns)?


I'm an SP. What the hell do you think I do?!
 
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