Long days

A well known New Zealand athlete, when recently asked what he is next in training for, answered 'The Human Race'. He has a good sense of humour, but also a deeper wisdom which comes from an abundance of self-transcending life experiences.

We know that it is important to set goals in our lives, but whether we succeed or fail at reaching these goals at the appointed hour is not important, keeping them and adjusting them if needed is.

Training is what we do when we are learning or seeking to improve our capacity in some way. We train children to ride a bike or learn to read, we get training when we get a new job, and anyone who takes part in sporting races has to train.

Usually training is focused on an immediate goal, whether it be completing a race or learning how to use a new computer programme, but just being in training has a motivating and energizing effect on us. The short term goal is in mind, but a lot more is really happening. Our life is made up of small segments of time, and when we become aware of the value of utilizing every moment we start to see how much we can truly accomplish.

There is a Buddhist saying "The journey is the destination". Say we train to run a marathon in under four hours. We get so much out of the training that, come race day, it doesn't really matter if we achieve our goal or not. If we do, that's wonderful, if we don't, we can take the experience as a step in training for the next race.

"Our goal is not fixed;


It is always transcending itself.


When we are about to reach


Our long-awaited goal,


We immediately see a new goal


To reach this new goal


Is not a one-inch journey.


It is also a very long distance away"





Sri Chinmoy

Setting goals helps us to keep a clear focus and not get distracted by comparing ourselves with other people. Try it and see for yourself! If we do not stay focused on our goals we easily start to judge our achievements against other peoples, and as soon as we do that our focus is lost and so is our sense of fulfilment and peace of mind. So if you haven't already, try setting yourself some goals, and get in training, for life.