Deciding On A Goal
White Mountain National Forest; New Hampshire USA
Once you make a commitment, once you decide upon the course of action, then all things change and you have put yourself on the road to override failure. Not deciding, not committing, simply remaining in wishful thinking is bound to yield no significant result in the long run, and so you will not succeed.
Someone I knew laid out this completely logical and very simple system for accomplishing your goals. His method was to look at the goal then work backwards in steps, determining with each step back what it would take to get to the next step forward. Then you keep moving back until you get to where you are now. Doing this he said gives a clear idea of what you need to do next.
“Now many people wished to pass through this road in order to reach a place of treasures.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter VII)
Sometimes we may look forward to completing a goal and think it is too far off, yet if we break it down into simple actionable progressions then we are looking at things that we can accomplish that will lead to the goal.
“We are tired out. We are also afraid of the danger of this road. We cannot go a step farther. Our destination is still far off. We wish to go back.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter VII)
If you have trouble with figuring out how to achieve your goal, perhaps a friend can help you sit down and make a plan. I know a doctor, actually I know several, who frequently are advising patients on how to achieve some dietary goal. For the most part, as I understand what they have shared, they try to break down the end goal into smaller goals that have a likelihood of success.
“Seeing that they had already had a rest, the leader collected them, and said ‘Go on ahead now! This is a magic city. You were tired out halfway. You wished to go back. Therefore, I made this city by magic as an expedient. Make efforts! Let us go to the place of treasures.’” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter VIII)
Whether it be our Buddhist practice or some other thing we wish to accomplish in our life, making a determination to do that thing, making a clear action plan, having good friends who will help us along the path are all fundamental to achieving the successes that are infinitely possible in our lives. In Buddhism we have the Three Jewels of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, these same actually apply, even if named differently, in all aspects of our lives.
