Every single person in the world has some form of a goal

Even the silliest, seemingly insignificant goal that you set with no real commitment will shape who you are now. You are where you are today, because of the choices you made yesterday.

Now who is the one to determine what is a silly goal or what is a noble one? Noone. Everything is relevant.

Here's a diverse few examples of some 'goal settings' and to help understand the power of mindfulness behaviour.

- Nail biting (A sign of anxiety. You begin to set a goal subconsciously. I will keep biting my nails till an answer comes up or someone relieves me of my stress. By some time, you will have pretty messed up nails)

- Partying with your mates (I will have X amount of this and out-party all of you. It's still a goal to out-party someone and your consciousness will remember it at some point in the future)

- Running to the elevator to see who gets there first between a friend (Not saying this is a bad thing. Healthy competition is great but one can hopefully appreciate that a sequence of these situations over time, will make you a more competitive person)

- Trying to get over the fear of men so getting into prostitution, an extremity.

Everyone is goal-driven. Every single person, no matter who they are. Someone's goal may be to make sure their drinking water in their cup has absolutely NOTHING in it so they keep rinsing their cup out till it's 'clean'. What micro-goals are you setting? What macro-goals (big picture goals) are you setting? I think it's easy to confuse what a goal is. From a young age, we see goals are something very big and tangible. Even the wording of 'short term goals' and 'long term goals' can be very confusing for someone who lacks self-awareness, clarity, experience etc.

I believe a goal can be anything you put in your head and here comes the importance of mindfulness. You hear this often in martial arts. I'd fear someone who has practiced one technique 10,000 times than 10,000 techniques once. That is because if you repeat one thing over and over, it becomes so deeply engrained, it is natural. You can perform on command, anywhere, anytime. Whether it be while you are intoxicated, whether it be in a competition, or in your own bedroom alone. As martial arts is a microcosm of life, the same can be applied to every inch of thought and micro-micro-micro goal you set every second of your day.

Even the silliest, most insignificant 'goal' you set, affects who you are. You may not even be aware that in your head, you have set a goal/a target. And this is what is dangerous. You are subconsciously putting in the time, the effort and mental capacity into this 'goal'. What if you don't achieve it? Even if you are not aware of it, the body keeps the count (Bessel Van Der Kolk, 2014).

So take control over your mind. I say this all the time but your mind is more important than food and water. Oxygen, then the mind. Your mind needs to be stronger than your feelings. Activate this through mindfulness, discipline and embracing the inevitability of suffering and loving it. Strange, I know. Be mindful of the words you use. The words shape up who you are. Your word and your promises must be promises.