Back to the Mission

Almost ten years ago, this blog was created as an outlet for me to express my own spiritual beliefs, morals, and in general the happenings that were occurring in my mind and soul. It was meant as almost a diary or book of shadows as I journeyed through life. I intended to document my own personal and spiritual growth, and at times I did. Slowly it melded into more of a research tool or reference source for others who were going through their own journey. I started structuring things with that in mind; creating more resource material and aids. I've always enjoyed the role of being the educator as much as being the educated. As I self-reflect and look back on the earlier content I had created, I can recognize my own growth. Yes, I took many long breaks as I stumble on my journey through life, and each time I find myself back here -- my self-made safe haven -- to document and create and breathe life into this once again. Each time, I return with new ideas, and the renewed drive to pour myself into my own growth. 

The growing pains never stop.

My last few posts have been, in my opinion, either impersonal or too personal. It seemed to be either a bullet point list of information, or an overly emotional rant. I feel I've started to lose sight of the intension of this blog. It is time to get back to the original mission. Back to the basics. 

Time to grow. Time to glow.

Something I've never really dived into on here is the importance of self-growth outside of spirituality. This blog is dripping with spiritual growth in more aspects than one. But there's more to self-growth than that, and it is crucial to know that spiritual growth is not possible without basic self-growth outside of it. Growing as a person will initiate spiritual growth; spiritual growth becomes stagnant without outside self-growth. 

I'd like to really hone in on this side of self-growth. Get back to the basics before adding in the level of spirituality. While this blog will continue to maintain its original mission and dedication to my spiritual journey, I recognize that my spirituality cannot continue to flourish without me first putting in the dedication and work in basic self-growth. This may seem like a big step backwards in the journey, but sometimes the journey isn't always straight. Sometimes the path turns back in on itself. 

There's a wonderful visual art piece by Yoann Bourgeois about the path of life, that went viral not long ago. It really illustrates how life's journey isn't always a straight line. View it here.

So, since my last huge break from here, I returned just in time to set goals for the coming year. With that in mind, I want to step back to the subject of goals, and start from there. 

When setting a goal, there's some things to ask yourself:

Is it important to me? No matter how great the reward, if it isn't important to you, the goal will fail. Consider what level a goal is to understand if it is important. In general, the hierarchy of importance tends to be physiological (food, clothing, etc), safety, love and belonging (friendships), esteem, then self-actualization. If your goal falls in level further along in the hierarchy, but your first level needs are met, the goal will feel unimportant.

What are the steps in setting a goal? Many people refuse to acknowledge the process of setting goals, which is why so many fail at achieving their goals. Steps to setting goals is a process, and includes: writing down your goals, choosing the most important goals, creating a plan to achieve the goals, setting a deadline to achieve the goals, taking action, evaluating progress, and reviewing goals that are set. 

Are there methods to use when setting goals? There are different methods that resonate with different personality types. Some of these methods are: Big Small Quick (BSQ) method, Goal Outcome Obstacle Plan (GOOP) method, Specific Measurable Actionable Reasonable Time-bound (SMART) method, Specific Measurable Actionable Reasonable Time-bound Evaluate Readjust (SMARTER) method, Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG), Heartfelt Animated Required Difficult (HARD) method, and many more. Personally, I like the SMART or SMARTER methods the best (see below), but you'll have to figure out what method works best for your personality type. 

What tools will I be using to set my goals? There's tons of resources out there for setting goals. There's apps, classes, reminders, post-its, vision boards, etc. Most of these may hinder you more than help you, but you can give them a try and see what works. It's going to be a lot of trial an error. Remember that the best tool you have at your disposal is your brain.

What can cause me to fail? It's mostly mental. Achievement requires a level of dedication that can be very difficult, which can deter us away from trying and making progress. You need a million reasons to keep trying and persevere, but you only need one reason to stop. Making progression a habit isn't an easy thing to do and it requires constant work. "Get up, put on some gangster rap, and make shit happen."