get more done: make abstract goals

get more done: make abstract goals

chapter 11: parlor trick or prudent talent?

did you know that scientists have recently been able to observe the same particle in two locations at once? the fabric of space and time is mysterious. physicists theorize that there are an infinite number of dimensions and hence infinite possibilities. only at the moment of choice do our possibilities shrink from infinite to singular. so why choose?! setting concrete goals locks us into a concept of what it is to get shit done. it sets us up to see a dualistic reality: black/white, start/finish, succeed/fail, cat/dog. and we often choose to feel good or bad depending on whether we succeed or fail.

take a moment to write down several concrete goals you’ve been dreading, e. g. fix head gasket, load cd library onto ipod, earn PhD. in a second column, write the steps and the time it will take to get that shit done. then imagine how you would feel completing your goals versus how you would feel never completing them and write about it in a third column.

now, formulate an abstract goal, e. g. appreciate old friend, feel love for pet, enjoy new hair style. how would you feel accomplishing these goals? now take five minutes and do them. i just got all that shit done.

imagine how much shit we could get done if we decided to do different shit!

About Administrator

Alicia Dattner is a comedian and speaker who jousts with such topics of love, time-management, money, environmentalism, politics, spirituality, and creativity. Her first solo show, The Punchline, recently won Best of the Fringe in the San Francisco Fringe Festival 2008. Her second show, Eat Pray Laugh won Best Storyteller at the NY United Solo Festival. Her company, Making Light, is dedicated to bringing humor and lightness into spirituality, relationship, and every day life.

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