In 1979, a Harvard survey asked students whether they had written down clear goals and plans for the future. Only 3% of students had written goals and plans; 84% had no goals. After 10 years, they again surveyed the members of this class and found that the highest earners were those who had set goals in writing.
If we don't direct our energy and efforts towards a goal, then our life has no definite purpose. The meaning of life is what you give it; therefore, there are no magic formulas. Everyone has an interest of their own, and that interest can change over time.
Goals serve to make clear what is important to us; what is unimportant can be left out, and we can focus our efforts on what really matters in our lives.
What other people think or say about us doesn't matter. In fact, only you are responsible for what happens. You can't try to please everyone or fulfill expectations that aren't yours. If something is at odds with your essence, try to establish a way to change it; but do this for your own benefit, not through the influence of others. You have to build your own positive values.
Let go of the anxiety of wanting to have absolute control over everything. We must learn to let go of everything that no longer benefits us. Attachment raises the level of stress in the body. Exercise the power of acceptance so you can put more focus on things you really control. Change is part of existence, an essential law of the Universe, no matter how hard you try to keep everything as it is. Realize how many new opportunities can arise with the change and take advantage of it, in your favor.
Excessive worry is fruitless. It is created by the mind and does not offer any help in our lives - worrying about something does not prevent an event or change. The Dalai Lama says, “If a problem can be solved, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If the situation cannot be resolved, then there is no point in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying in any situation.”
Don't feed the expectation of success. At some point in our lives failure will be present, that's a fact, no one is 100% immune to it. It doesn't make you "worse" than others. Try to extract as much information and learning from your mistakes as possible, to better guide yourself from then on.
The most important things in life are not material. What you own is not what defines you. Stop focusing only on the material and start building meaningful experiences and relationships. If you want to know who it is, start taking action. Your actions will outline and define you. True happiness comes when we reach the state of inner peace: the state of contentment with what you have and what you are.
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Carl W. Buehner (1898 – 1974)
References
“How to become an animator” – Kris Larson – AnimatorMentor.com
“Carl Buehner”- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_W._Buehner
