For several days I had a terrible headache. It happened right during the time I was to write and post to my blog, but my mind was mush. Trying to write a post at that time would have been like trying to give a speech with a mouth full of cotton—an incoherent disaster. So, okay, no big deal, I just skip a week and move on, right? For me it was not that simple. I have made a goal to write a post every week this year. Now, suddenly, I was beset with panic and guilt because I was failing to meet my goal.

Fortunately, my more rational self pointed out that I was allowing my “goal” to overshadow my original purpose in writing a blog at all. If I forced myself to write something when my heart (let alone my mind) wasn’t in it, what value would that have?

Goals are great. They give us a destination to aim for and help us set a course of action to keep us moving forward. But sometimes our plan of attack is so rigid that we become consumed with checking things off our to-do list and lose sight of the reason why we are doing in the first place. It doesn’t hurt to pause now and then and re-examine our goals. In so doing, we can rediscover the excitement and desire that lead us to form them. By keeping our intent in focus, our goals won’t become burdens; they will be pathways to meaningful change and growth in our lives. My headache was a blessing for it reminded me that while setting and achieving goals is a good thing, it is the mindful accomplishment of the change we seek, not the mindless pursuit of “goals”, that is important.