Goals in your life

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ReenieHJ
ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
in Chit-Chat
One of the reasons that my depression has gotten a foot hold lately is I have no goals. None. We all need goals in our days, something to make us feel worthwhile, needed, motivated, keep us focused and grounded.

Please share your goals? What keeps you going every day?

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  • beagletracks
    beagletracks Posts: 6,035 Member
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    Just completing tasks helps me with the anxiety and depression, whether it’s exercise, cleaning, errands, school, or work.

    Getting out in nature whenever possible is a necessity for me. Completing hikes or other planned adventures feels good on many levels, but just wandering in the woods or picnicking somewhere beautiful away from civilization is great too.

    I enjoy structured education, so taking classes, completing assignments, and completing classes/degrees works well for me. It’s anxiety producing at times, though. There are some cool free classes in many topics available online. Open Culture has links to a lot of them.

    I have a list most days and it feels good to finish things, but today I’m doing absolutely nothing for once. I need it badly right now. Not going to pressure myself to be perfect today!

    I’m sorry you’re feeling bad. I’m having a tough time, too. I keep blaming it in one thing or another, but the depression deepens regardless of context. I have a little break coming up and I’m going to focus on mental and physical health for several weeks and hopefully climb out of this spiral.

    Sending big hugs!
  • Yoshiboobs
    Yoshiboobs Posts: 1,090 Member
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    Bruv... I need goals.
    I'm just trying to get my eating under control rn. I'm thinking that I should start doing this list thing everyone mentions.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
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    Getting these kids through this school year with all my hair still intact is my goal this year. :laugh:
  • tmantwo
    tmantwo Posts: 2,181 Member
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    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    One of the reasons that my depression has gotten a foot hold lately is I have no goals. None. We all need goals in our days, something to make us feel worthwhile, needed, motivated, keep us focused and grounded.

    Please share your goals? What keeps you going every day?

    What keeps me going has little to do with my goals but completing my goals can help keep me going.

    What keeps me going, in a nutshell, is other people. It's knowing that I've got it extremely good in comparison to many others. I like to think that if I keep going I can continue doing the little things I try to do for others whenever I have the opportunity and it may help them. I would not be where I'm if it were not for many, many, others who afforded me the same; both over my lifetime and over the past centuries.

    As for goals, I can only set incremental goals or I get overwhelmed. For example, my current goal is to complete the work im doing for a customer by the first Friday in December. My last goal was to pass a certification exam. I have a huge list of prioritized tasks, some with due dates, but if I made that list into a list of goals I'd be overwhelmed, my head would explode, I'd never start the goals list because I'd think to myself "self, the list will be there tomorrow. What's another day of procrastinating? eff it, I'll go do something else that I think is fun at this point in time.", I'd never get any of them done, and I'd fail. If I fail I risk not being able to keep going.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    edited November 2020
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    I like to fly by the seat of my pants. It's always been my preferred mode of transportation. Some people thrive under and with chaos. Waiting until the very last minute lights a fire under my rearend and I can do some of my best stuff when hard pressed to get it done or else. Mmm hmm.

    Without any goals you don't have to overthink anything and somehow you still manage to get it all done.

    u6dy0r.gif
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    edited November 2020
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    @ReenieHJ I used to work for an outfit that spent weeks and years in the planning process but nothing ever really got done. Those long meetings used to drive me nuts. Goals and strategy and blah blah blah. We wasted so much time planning. Tiny steps for tiny feet. Start with one closet in your house and before long you'll be blasting through everything in the house. I did that last spring. I went on a 30 day cleaning jag and didn't stop. I cleaned about 12 hours every day. Momentum begets momentum. Just begin and the momentum will carry you away. Try it.

    I gave clothes away, books. I practically got rid of everything and could not be happier. I threw all of the dieting books into the bin. They were worthless and useless.

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