Setting Realistic Goals
Setting goals hasn’t always come easily to me, especially those which are self-imposed. When I don’t have anyone else depending on me, I tend to get lax and downright lazy about expectations from myself. Slowly but surely, I’m learning that the goals I set and achieve which might seem like they’re for me alone do affect others in one way or another.
Even if it’s simply my own improved outlook for having accomplished more than I might have in my own personal vacuum, I’m continually being reminded we are all ripples in the same ocean. Anything we do (or don’t do) affects others in some way, even if our ripple must travel a good distance before it’s impact is felt by someone on a conscious level.
In the same tone as the old “if a tree falls in the forest” concept, the ripples we make don’t have to be felt on anyone’s conscious level in order for them to be impactful. When you get one of those niggles at the back of your mind urging you to turn this way or that, chances are you’re feeling a ripple from somewhere. You’re not meant to acknowledge or recognize the ripple or initial sender. The push in a direction other than where you were drifting is all you need to know or acknowledge.
Dreams Lead to Goals
Of course, if you fail to heed the gentle prod, you’re likely to get more aggressive ripples later 
on, especially if the push is particularly important to the dreams you’ve dreamed and the goals you’ve set. Those dreams and goals are the basis for ripples which are important to someone else’s dreams and goals, though you’ll probably never know who or what.
As I see it, your dreams have a much higher purpose than simply making you happy or successful. It might be that your success feeds someone else’s; that you set an example for what can be achieved if you pay attention and listen to your heart. It might be that you’re setting the stage for someone else’s success by removing an obstacle, or putting one in place so they’ll move in a different direction. Either way, you set ripples in motion which will have far-reaching effects.
In some ways, our dreams are contracts, not only with ourselves, but with the Universe in general. We dream a dream which leads us to setting goals. Those goals become stepping stones as we break them into manageable pieces. With each step we take to move closer to achieving a goal, we set a million things into play which wouldn’t have happened had we not taken that step. Each movement touches lives both directly and indirectly which wouldn’t be touched had we stayed in the same place indefinitely.
One Small Ripple Impacts Many
Think about it this way. If you dig a hole in the ground, crawl inside, and pull the dirt in after you, you affect the ecosystem of the area where the hole is, but beyond that, you don’t touch anything else. Sure, whatever you disturbed in the digging of your hole will impact other things, but far less than if you’d tromped through the forest, oblivious to the creatures you disturbed, the soil you moved, and the leaves you crushed.
The same is true of taking steps to achieve your goals, and ultimately manifest your dreams. You can’t move forward without disturbing the status quo of the places you step into when you leave your own stasis. As soon as you make the teeniest movement, you are no longer in equilibrium, nor is anyone or anything around you. You’ve changed the environment for everyone!
Before you become paralyzed by the enormity of it all, know you’re meant to cause these changes. Stasis is both unproductive and unsustainable. No one and nothing is meant to remain perfectly still. The oceans ebb and flow, the winds blow, weather changes, and everything on Earth is slowly worn away, built up, or somehow changed forever.
Changes You Make and Changes That Make You
You do, however, have the opportunity to choose whether the changes you incite will be 
beneficial to someone, or destructive. I like to believe we can choose to “do no harm”. Holding that perspective is no guarantee you won’t adversely affect someone or something, but it will cause you to act consciously, minimizing negative affects overall. Sometimes, the impact of your actions might actually be meant to have negative implications for someone. It could be what’s needed to shake them out of their unnatural attachment to the status quo.
Of course, you can choose to look back on your life, see where your actions did harm (or at least did based on your perception), and paralyze future progress. Better to either focus on where you did good, or not look back at all. Everything you are right now is a compilation of everything that came before; every step you took, every reaction to someone else’s steps, every dream you achieved, and every goal you see as a failure. It all comes together in the current moment. You can’t change what was, or what you’ve become. You can only change what you do from this point forward by being conscious of how and where you step.
What are you dreaming right now? Where would you like to go? Who would you like to be? Put some steps in place to begin moving away from where you currently are, and towards those dreams. The steps don’t have to be large, but they do have to be achievable. Nothing kills a dream faster than setting yourself impossible goals. Discouragement at your inability to take a step is the fastest way to kill a dream. Praising yourself for the smallest step forward is the best way to make a dream a reality. Choose wisely, and by all means, be kind to yourself!
You Aren’t In This Alone
Are you struggling to take the smallest step towards your goals? Are you overwhelmed by the enormity of your dream, and the demands you already have on your time? Would you like to take a task or two off your plate? Maybe it’s content creation, or perhaps it’s getting your books in order and creating a budget. If this sounds familiar and you’re ready to streamline your life and give your business space to grow and thrive, CONTACT ME and let’s talk!
About the Author
Sheri Conaway is a writer, blogger, ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri 
believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income. If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author. And check out her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward.
