Tarzan on Goal Setting

Remember the old Tarzan movies? Tarzan could move quickly through the jungle, swinging from vine to vine. But what would have happened if he had grabbed the second vine, but refused to release the first vine. All forward momentum would be lost. Tarzan would be left dangling between two vines high above the jungle floor. Fortunately, Tarzan always remembered to release the old vine at just the right moment to fly through the air in order to catch the next vine.

Likewise we can use goals to help us cover vast distances. But as we swing from one goal to the next, we must remember to release attachment to the old goals before we reach out to grasp the next goal on our journey. Forgetting this lesson we cling to the past even as we reach for the future and find ourselves dangling, high above the forest floor.

When goals lie in the future, as something to aspire to, they help us find our flow. Alicia is a nine year old dancer who wants to be the principal dancer for American Ballet Theater. She has nothing to lose and everything to gain. She loves to dance and is seldom bored or scared when in the dance studio. Alicia’s classmate, Steve, wants to be a millionaire. While Alicia is in the dance studio, Steve is buying and selling comic books from his online comic store and studying how to use Facebook to extend his customer base. Like Alicia, Steve has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

When goals lie in the past and we fail to release our attachment to them they begin to interfere with our ability to concentrate on newer goals. Imagine that Alicia is thirty years old and is now a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theater. If she does not release her original goal she will find herself in the position of hanging onto her position as a principal dancer, having nothing to gain and everything to lose. If her position is secure she risks boredom. If her position is threatened by a younger rising star in the company, or by her own declining abilities she is scared. Meanwhile Steve is now a millionaire. If he is not careful, the goal of becoming a millionaire will convert into the goal of keeping the money he already made and he too, will have nothing to gain and everything to lose. If his million dollars is not threatened he is bored and if it is threatened he is scared. 

The New Year is traditionally a time to look to the future and make a new years resolution. I would encourage you instead to look back over the arc of your life and learn how to recognize and release any unhealthy attachments to the past before reaching for a new future of your own creation.