Is the Path the Goal?

Now that we’re well into 2010, you’re reviewing the goals you set for the year – and the rest of your career. But for those Type A, future-oriented thinkers among us, beware the dark side of goal setting.

“I think goals and specific plans cut off possibilities and make you miss good things along the way, because you’re so focused on achieving that goal,” says Gail Evans, former CNN executive vice president and author of Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman.

Evans says the secret to success in the future is success in the present. “Successful people show up for work, show up for life. They do what’s there, and through that, they discover what they love to do.”

Here’s how to reconnect:

A new study, led by University of Pennsylvania researchers, found a positive relationship between mindfulness exercises and improvements in working memory. Oprah.com suggests a few quick and easy breathing exercises.

Have a few quiet moments in the office? Lower the lights, take a deep breath and listen to one of these guided mindfulness.

Mindfulness in Plain English warns about striving to be perfect and resisting change. Instead, be open to change and view all problems as challenges.

Minute Mentor: Evans tells PINK how to be happy by letting go.

Bonus PINK Link: Do you know how to transform a lousy job into a job you love? Evans shows you how.

By David Cates

“Realize that this very body, with its aches and and it pleasures…
is exactly what we need to be fully human, fully awake, fully alive.” Pema Chodron