Accomplish Your GOALS by....Not Setting Any?
A more mindful way to set & accomplish your goals
The Dilemma w/ Goal-setting…
Creating goals for ourselves is important, right?
It can help us to determine the direction we want to go in, increase our motivation, build a sense of belief in ourselves when we accomplish a goal, and it helps to enhance our focus.
It serves us great benefits. It keeps us aligned and able.
However….
There are ALOT of pitfalls when it comes to goal setting that we should be careful of & this is where mindfulness comes in.
One idea of what this means is often times when we set goals for ourselves, we put in an excessive amount of focus onto it. And when we focus entirely on a goal, we may notice that often times, if not every time, we end up NOT achieving the goal.
In some cases, excessive focus on the future of the things we want to accomplish can prevent us from getting there.
(there’s research to prove this true—I’ll link some sources at the end)
One research finding shows when ppl strive to have less negative thoughts about themselves, where they put their focus entirely on accomplishing this type of goal, they actually find that they end up having MORE negative thoughts and a dramatic decrease in self esteem.
Same findings were seen with ppl who set dieting as a goal. When ppl try hard to lose weight, some ppl engage in more overeating and often actually gain more weight than lose it.
But WHY does this happen?
“There are ALOT of pitfalls when it comes to goal setting that we should be careful of & this is where mindfulness comes in.”
When we look at the process that’s going on here, I find that it has a lot to do with the discrepancy that exists between the present moment & the future.
So what that means is —we are here in the present moment, creating a goal for ourselves of something we want to achieve in the future and then that awareness of knowing we are NOT there yet, has the potential to create a dilemma for us.
This week, we’re diving deeper into this topic.
Below you’ll find more insight into goal setting, why it’s such an issue when we focus too much on our goals, & ofcourse what we can do to prevent this from happening to us anymore. I also share some more mindful goodies that I think you’ll appreciate.
-be sure to check out the LOC breakdown below for more details on what’s to come in this email.
So let’s get right into it 💫💫
Here’s the LOC breakdown for you to PREVIEW what you’re getting in this email (at a glance):
Mindful Insights
(1) Are one of your goals to save or make more money? Here are some ways you can start doing that RIGHT NOW. (2) If a goal of yours is to be able to habitually meditate, then try intermittent silence. Here I’ll show you what this means. (3) I share a short trailer to a movie “The Social Dilemma” that I HIGHLY encourage you to check out. It’s for a new Netflix documentary that just came out a couple of weeks ago which talks about the dark side to social media, among other things like how it can be a major reason to why your mental health is declining.
Mindful Weekly Challenge
A Mindful Goal Focus Exercise — This will be in the form of a PDF that you can download & keep. This challenge aims to help you identify how much time and energy you typically spend on future goals. It can also help you, if necessary, to move toward a more mindful goal focus.
Mindful Approach
This week we talk about how to cultivate more healthier and effective ways to set goals using mindfulness.
Mindful Reflection
this week I reflect on this quote:
“If you think that peace and happiness are somewhere else and you run after them, you will never arrive. It is only when you realize that peace and happiness are available here in the present moment that you will be able to relax. In daily life, there is so much to do and so little time. You may feel pressured to run all the time. Just stop! Touch the ground of the present moment deeply, and you will touch real peace and joy.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Mindful Insights
1) Goals To Accumulate MORE money?
Start here.
There are many ways to accumulate wealth or to make more money. And often times, the ways to do so takes a lot of action, hard work, time, & patience. But we don’t want to work so hard & we just want money now??
So then let’s do what we want…let’s make more money right now.
FIRST, it would be beneficial to understand that to establish real wealth for ourselves in terms of money, it truly does (for the most part) take a strategy with smart goals in place, as well as building a strong set of habits. To create wealth for life is a long term type of goal.
However, there are some sub (short term)-goals we can work on in the meantime that will start bringing money our way right now. And this works because I do it.
One example of how I make money fast is through these free apps below:
I’ve had this app for about 2 years now, and I love it. It actually gives you money for pretty much doing nothing.
You do a few surveys, and it awards you a few cents for everyone you attempt. It’s small increments but it ADDS UP. I’ve already cashed out over 7 times since having it and made well over $200 for just tapping through a few easy surveys. Talk about making money while sitting on your ass doing nothing lol. Highly recommend this one. You can download in the App Store (available for both iPhones & androids) and if you choose to download it, use my referral code. I help you make money & then you help me. Win win!
Another app I use that grants me digital currency fast is Sweatcoin. It awards the money based on how many steps you take in a day. So you just leave the app running in the background, have your phone on you & just start walking.
It’s especially helpful when you’re exercising because more movement means more money.
The money is in the form of digital currency which can be used for stuff they offer in the app which is GREAT STUFF. They do give you an option though to purchase a gift card which basically translates the digital currency to “real money” if you choose to go that route instead.
I’ve had this app also for 2 years now and the money keeps pouring in. I haven’t used the money yet though, I’m just letting it build up for now. If you choose to do this— use my code
Other ways to go about making money fast can be to sell shit on Amazon. Or you can become an Amazon affiliate which is something I’m planning on looking into myself. You can also sell or resell stuff on sites like Craigslist or Offer Up.
There’s so many ways to make a quick buck. Yes! It takes a little creativity and you may have to do a little google searching but when you find something that works for you, you’ll find that you can actually start making those dollars right here, right now.
2) Build a meditation habit with intermittent silence
Getting to know someone else is a great way to build a connection that’s usually accomplished by talking to them. And just as talking to others forms a bridge to build a connection, silence does that same thing but for ourselves, to our inner selves.
Meditation is a GREAT tool to help us establish a connection with ourselves. And while there are many ways to meditate, they don’t all work for everyone.
And so for those of us that can’t get ourselves to meditate, intermittent silence may be the right thing for you.
Intermittent silence is basically what it sounds like: taking a few minutes per day to be intentionally silent.
“During moments of intense stress, I’ve found that it helps if I take even five minutes to sit in silence. And that’s it. I don’t try to force myself to set intentions, focus on my breathing, or repeat a mantra. It’s just silence.”
The practice is designed to allow you to disconnect from noise and distractions. The way the practice works is by giving the parts of the brain responsible for speaking and the one responsible for listening a break.
For instance, during moments of intense stress, I’ve found that it helps if I take even five minutes to sit in silence. And that’s it. I don’t try to force myself to set intentions, focus on my breathing, or repeat a mantra. It’s just silence.
Intermittent silence is effective because what we are doing is creating space for ourselves to find some calm & inner peace & we NEED that. In the same way that people take a rest from eating, or rest their physical body to lower their heart rate, it is also important to rest the brain.
Studies have shown and proven countless times that silence not only stimulates the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus of our brain (the area responsible for learning, memory, & emotions), but also helps to decrease blood pressure & heart rate, & assists in relaxation.
Intermittent silence can essentially also make us more mindful of what we say and how we speak.
With intentional silence, we can start realizing that it's a choice to speak, and we can start becoming reflective about why we're choosing to speak. Is it because we're feeling the need to fill up empty space in a conversation? Or is it because we're feeling the need to try to showcase ourselves or prove our value? There's a lot of different reasons a person would choose to speak, and we're not always conscious of that process. Practicing intentional silence can help with that.
This practice can be done really anywhere you can find a moment of silence for yourself. To get started, you can set a timer through your phone or even through an app that may have more subtle alarms like the Insight Timer App.
One of the best ways to start intermittent silence is to work through the following four components for 10 minutes each day: (1) Close your mouth; (2) Close your eyes; (3) Silent listening; and (4) Silent watching (of your thoughts).
Hope you find this helpful as something you can integrate into your daily routine. ❤️
3) A Netflix Documentary — The Social Dilemma Trailer
This documentary came out a few days ago or so & it’s already getting ppl to talk. It wakes us up to what’s taking place in our digital lives and talks about the effects of our smart phones & social networks on our behaviors. It sets off the alarm by presenting itself as an urgent warning about what’s really going on behind the scenes. I highly encourage you to check it out.
Here is a trailer to get a taste of what I mean…
Mindful Challenge
This weeks challenge is in the form of an exercise you can do that I call — A Mindful Goal focused Exercise. This challenge aims to help you identify how much time and energy you typically spend on future goals. It can also help you, if necessary, to move toward a more mindful goal focus.
A Mindful Goal Focus Exercise PDF
Mindful Approach
The biggest dilemma when it comes to achieving goals is that most ppl believe in order to achieve goals you have to be very very focused on it.
This can be an issue because what this means is that part of your attention cannot be devoted to what you are doing in the present here & now.
A good example of what this looks like can be described when you think of those times during an exam. For the most part we just want to pass and get an A or atleast something close to it, right?
Now think of those exams that were really tough. We studied our asses off and during the test we’re still nervous. During the test, we may even find ourselves occupied in those thoughts of “Damn this is hard. Ugh I just wanna pass. I really hope I pass.”
We’re spending time during the test worrying about the future, thinking of the goals and spending less attention in the now which creates a lower quality of present moment activity. How well do we actually do on those exams? Probably better had we remained focused there.
When we’re too focused on goals, or the future, we start to look at the present moment just as a way to get to the next moment, never as important as the goal, and ultimately never good enough unless we achieved the goal.
It’s almost like we’re tunnel vision—Only putting our attention on goals we want to reach. And before you know it, we’re caught in an endless focus on a future oriented goal.
A lot of focus on goals also creates fear & worry. We may think things like: what if I don’t succeed? What if everything doesn’t work out? What if I fail?
We also may believe that getting to our goals will make us happier—Something called the happiness illusion.
Mindfulness & Goals
So mindfulness (which means having more attention for the now) allows us to find a happy medium. It allows us to still shine some light onto the goals of the future but devoting the most part of our attention to the present moment because we begin to understand that the future is a concept & the present moment is truly all we have. When we lost contact with the present moment, we basically lose out of life in itself.
It’s the way to the goal, the process, that’s MOST IMPORTANT. In the back of our mind (in most cases) we know what we’re doing & where it’s taking us so we don’t have to necessarily keep constantly checking whether we’re aligned with our goals or not. It’s okay to set the goal free & trust that we will accomplish it based on the steps we’re presently taking in this moment right here, right now.
**Next week we’ll look into the next pillar (6th pillar) of mindfulness — compassion. Mindfulness involves a kind & compassionate stance towards the self. Many ppl suffer from a non accepting & self critical relationship with the self which has a lot to do with the “inner critic.” So we will learn more about what that is & what we can do to effectively cultivate healthier relationships with the self through using mindfulness & meditation. **
Mindful Reflection
“If you think that peace and happiness are somewhere else and you run after them, you will never arrive. It is only when you realize that peace and happiness are available here in the present moment that you will be able to relax. In daily life, there is so much to do and so little time. You may feel pressured to run all the time. Just stop! Touch the ground of the present moment deeply, and you will touch real peace and joy.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Peace & happiness is something many of us aim to achieve. What I’ve noticed though is that many of us are looking outside of ourselves to find it.
To cultivate a sense of peace & joy in our lives, we do so by looking within. It’s our thoughts, feelings, & behaviors that leads up to being able to create & live a life worth living.
When we tap into our source, our heart, and we listen without judgement, we find that the answers have been within us all along. We realize we don’t have to look so far & deep for happiness or peace because it’s inside of us.
We then start finding more space for ourselves. We intentionally do things that bring on happiness & peace. We spend more time in nature, we meditate, & most importantly we allow ourselves to breathe & be here in the present moment realizing that this moment here is enough.
Thank you for reading this weeks newsletter my friend. Hope you enjoy the rest of your week. Stay well.
Namaste.
** BTW if you ever have any questions or feedback, you can always REPLY to these emails directly. Im always down to chat & go over anything I covered, any mindfulness or meditation questions, or simply just connect & get to know you more. If that’s something you’d like to do, feel FREE and just respond to the email(s).
***ALSO, if you haven’t already you can join the private group on FB where we can get conversations going & talk about important & meaningful topics or ideas as it relates to us or the world. Plus, I’d rather talk too you, not at you.
So come talk to me.
I’m Victor.
Or the mindfulness guy.
I aim to find calm & balance in my life through inspirations between alternative Eastern traditional Buddhism styles of meditation & mindfulness, as well as modern secular styles too.
I believe that we ALL have the capacity to create greatness for ourselves & I’m willing to show you how.
you can find me hanging out on:
Instagram —@2whomitmayconcrn_
Facebook — @iamzenrn
TikTok — @iamzenrn
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~I’m here to hold space for you because you deserve it.~
Victor Padilla