The Second Power -- The Power of Gravitational Goals

This is the third in the series entitled, The Six Powers of Leadership - a Quest for Meaning, Balance and Prosperity. You can always catch up on all previous articles here: http://conceptcoach.blogspot.com/. My last edition introduced The First Power - The Power of Self- discovery. Today, I'm presenting The Second Power - The Power of Gravitational Goals.

I once set a goal, which I achieved. I then set another goal, and achieved it as well. My momentum led to a third goal - you're beginning to notice a pattern here? It's how 99% of us "grow." From the vantage point of each achievement we look around for the next logical place to go. And we set another goal.

There's a problem here that you'll recognize immediately. This is what frogs do. They hop once and look around the pond for another spot. They hop again and select their next destination. They hop and hop and hop. And then they die. Surely this isn't a life you'd want to live, is it? And yet...

You might tell me that you already have big goals - say retirement - when you'll finally have that boat, time to read, time to travel and time to "live life."

And then you die.

I don't mean to be morbid about this; I simply want to point out that more often than not, our goals are not much more than a series of stepping stones that lead only to the next stone.

Surely there is more to all of this. There is. It's called purpose. When the final curtain is drawn on my life, I won't be thinking about my car or my golf game. I'll be thinking about my impact - how did I affect the world? Did I leave my mark? Did my life make a difference? Frogs probably don't think about this very much. Do you?

This is the difference between typical "goals" and what I call "gravitational goals." Once you've achieved The Power of Self-knowledge, you know who you are. The next step is to determine your destination, who you really want to become. That person is probably bigger than retirement. That person is someone who made a difference. The difference doesn't need to be epic, but it does need to matter. It needs to matter to you.

Your gravitational goal must be so compelling that every atom of your being is drawn toward it. Hopping from one stone to the next is no longer random; it's a direct route. You no longer struggle to achieve goals, because you nearly collide with them along your journey to purpose.

And there's more.

The journey to who you want to become is the easier journey. Not only does your destination now have real meaning, but also, your self takes on a kind of gravity. As your self-knowledge refines you, you take on a greater density and become attractive - attractive in the sense that your newfound purpose draws helpful ideas, people and circumstances to you just as strongly as you are drawn to your destination. These are the parts of your future self you will accumulate along the way, attracting more and more of the attributes that best suit you.

This leaves me with a question for you; do you really want to live as a frog and die as a frog, or do you want to have lived a life filled with purpose and meaning?

Go beyond goals. Discover your gravitational goals.

Next time: The Third Power - The Power of Capacity