Goals and Inspiration - finding the energy and purpose to have hope and drive

I look around myself daily and see many, many people who struggle through life.  They are unhappy more than they are happy, and their goals are rather simple and (can I say it without offending?) empty.

These people stumble into and out of relationships, stumble into and out of jobs.  They might start a family, work for years, make a bit of headway on their mortgage, and then "come to them self" after their prime has passed and wonder where their life went and whether it was worth it.  If any conscious direction exists, it has been set with a low bar, and even then it has not always been achieved.

So what is missing?
An ability to set goals?  Partly, but everyone can imagine them self as a hero, or just better than they are now.

A sense of accomplishment?  Maybe.  Significant achievement is addictive and until you establish a pattern here you don't know the feeling you are searching for.

Is it due to a lack of ability? I don't think so - my students do some amazing things and demonstrate some pretty incredible creativity and thinking, though inconsistently.

Maybe it is motivation, inspiration, purpose, and drive - the part of the formula that gives energy to the do-er and carries them through the low times with enough momentum to keep things moving forward.  This is a huge part of the puzzle that is missing for many people, young and old, rich and poor, all over the world.

Then, how can it be fixed?
Morality is needed.  An understanding of what is good, and what is evil.  What could lend more purpose than this?  We all want to do good, don't we?  That's why we root for the goodies in movies, and feel a sense of happiness and satisfaction when the baddies are overcome.  At heart, we all want to be the goody who is overcoming the bad guy.

But how do we know what is good and what is not?  As babies and small children, we have strong urges toward selfishness.  This is a useful survival mechanism perhaps, leading to getting fed, changed, and cared for.  As we grow up that selfishness becomes destructive - we engage in conflict with our surrounding peers, until we begin to understand that other people have a right to things that we want also.  We learn that our carers have authority and power that we don't, so we listen to them and learn from them - this usually shapes the rest of our morality.  But what shaped their morality?  How do we know what is truly right and wrong?  We need a lasting authority that cannot be argued with.

God (If you don't believe in God, just humour me for the sake of this).  What does God have to do with it?  What can a "mythical" being contribute to morality that you can't come up with on your own?  Well, a mythical being can't come up with anything since a myth doesn't exist.  But if God exists, He lends an enormous weight to any description of what is good.

Consider the attributes of a God...
...and not just any god.  Think of one who is truly big enough and powerful enough to make an entire universe.

God is eternal, existing forever into the past and forever into the future.  He knows the beginning, the end, and everything that happens in the middle; and He knows this for everything that has ever, or will ever, exist. Put it this way: God can see the eternal consequences of every single decisions that you will ever make, or could make.  When you die, there will still be consequences raging on for the things that you have done.

Now imagine that you were given a task to do that would accomplish something good from God (and of course God is the expert on "good", or He wouldn't be God), and something that would have lasting consequences until well after you pass on.  What if you had something so amazingly good to put your hand to that it would have positive eternal consequences?  Would that give you purpose?  Of course it would!  And God is the only one who can give you such a purpose because He is the only one who can say what will bear everlasting fruit.

What else?  God is powerful, able to create a universe just by speaking it into existence.  Let's add power to the mix then.  That could mean that God doesn't need us, lowly humans, to accomplish His purposes, but for a moment consider that He made us.  That means we are significant to Him in some way, and that He chooses to use us and work through us somehow.  So our hypothetical question now becomes, "What if you had a positive eternal purpose to try and accomplish, along with the power from God Himself to help you achieve that goal?"

With such a situation, there is no chance of losing.  You are creating something good, something lasting, and something that is sure to succeed.  It's never a cheap and easy victory though, because God loves us to struggle along the way, perhaps growing us during the process into something better.  But even though it seems hard or impossible at times, we can know that our purpose will never be foiled if God is for us.

If you're not convinced of the need for God, try to think how this works without Him.  Where is the absolute certainty that your purpose is good?  Where is the power to accomplish it coming from?  Where is the certainty of lasting effect?  And what prevents you from setting the bar too low and finding too easy victory that is unsatisfying?

What then?
If you're prepared to accept that an eternal and powerful being exists (who has a vested interest in humanity's success) then what?  How do you learn His purpose or His will for you?  Holy writings from God perhaps?  But which religion?

If you are considering these things then I suggest you start here.  The page leads you through some short articles that build the picture that many already possess.

And if you decide to go your own way, then all the best with that.  Even if you don't see the need for God, I hope you can take a few things out of this article anyway.  Namely, the knowledge of how to set goals in a way that will give you purpose and inspiration, i.e. Goals that are achievable, have a sense of good about them, and that have a long-lasting effect in your life and the lives of others.

Take care :-)

Sam

Steve Jobs Biography, Apple, Android, and LSD (the drug this time)

Having recently read, and thoroughly enjoyed, the Steve Jobs bio by Walter Isaacson, along with some fresh interactions with Apple products (iTunes, Macbook Pro, iPad), I decided to share the thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head ever since.

There is no doubt that Steve Jobs was an incredible guy who has left a lasting legacy. He was also pretty crazy a lot of the time. Jobs experimented with LSD, followed weird diets, ignored medical advice, and pretty much did what he wanted most of the time. There are a number of reasons he was so successful but the couple of things that stood out for me were his "make it happen" attitude and his insistence on quality, even if it appears he took these to an irrational excess at times.

After reading the bio, I've discovered a strange appreciation for Apple products. Their simplicity and user-friendliness, which drive a lot of the Apple innovation, is very attractive. You may have noticed that many companies are now embracing a Zen-ish simplicity, e.g. Google's recent changes to Gmail, Blogger, Reader, etc... Whether this is directly due to Jobs and Apple or not I can't tell for sure, but the bio does record Larry Page visiting Jobs at his house.

One other aspect of Apple design that deserves a mention is the focus on completely integrated design. There are no bolt on parts to make up the whole, instead products are considered as a whole with features of every part reliant on every other part in their design and function. This leads to great gains in efficiency but lead to much higher production costs and therefore retail costs.

So, after receiving all of this inside information and insight into Apple, I can say that I really do appreciate their products. Unfortunately there is a downside, and it's not the cost. My sort of creativity and innovation doesn't work too well with Apple products. Sure, for writing, drawing, snapping pictures, video, etc. I could use an Apple device, but once I have that media I can't seem to bend the Apple device to do my bidding. I am convinced that this is due to their insistence on having only Apple software, to preserve the Apple experience, and also due to their overly strict digital rights management. Copyright ruins Apple for me.

So proud of their intuitive interface, Apple loses this intuitive interaction with the user when they disable naturally intuitive features like sharing. Also, with iTunes, it is awkward to get your media into a commonly used format and in New Zealand your options for media to purchase on iTunes are vastly diminished. Even their payment system, using gift cards to top up your account balance rather than using it like every other gift voucher (at the checkout), fails the intuition test. The small print on the card? Who reads small print these days? The prices through iTunes are still way out also. Why buy a digital copy of a movie for $25 when that is more expensive than a DVD?

What I inevitably find with Apple products is that I love the device and the hardware interface, but the software just doesn't allow me to be innovative and creative the way that something more open (like Android) does. So after years of trying to have a good experience with Apple products, I have finally given up. I'm not going to experiment with an iPad because it costs too much and I'm almost certain I won't like it - what a waste of money. Instead I plan to wait until decent Android tablets become cheaper (and they will because that's what happened with smart-phones).

Now, I'm a realist. I know that my issues with Apple may change or become irrelevant. I know these issues are not entirely an Apple issue (blame is due to the big music and movie corps too). I also recognise the quality of the hardware, and the suitability of Apple products for digital immigrants and others seeking a simpler technological interaction experience. So if you, or anyone you know wants to give me a free iPad (you never know...) I will still give it a go in the interest of fairness.

I know that people get pretty passionate about their Apple devices, so feel free to rant at me in the comments below. I'm half expecting some Apple cult members to show up and defend their faith, but they should remember that we'd only be arguing about different values - I value a different type of creativity in addition to theirs, and I'm not willing to surrender that.

I'll leave you with a video clip of Steve Jobs launching the iPad 2. Despite the effects of terminal illness on his body, you can see the magic. Enjoy:

Another part of a story

Another step in the story begun here. So far, a mysterious stranger with a lot of influence has arrived in town and selected an unlikely apprentice. After a few stops on the way out of town to get supplies, the Stranger and Sara have spent a couple of nights in the woods heading to the Stranger's cave dwelling. His name has been revealed as Nero and he has taught Sara a few surprising skills already. Sara has begun to trust Nero because of this and to seek his approval through her actions. Now, they continue on the way, not far from their destination...

"How far is it now?" asked Sara, "You did say that we'll get there today, right?"

Nero glanced up at the sun, tilted his head to the side to think, and then moved his arms in an arc across the sky. He enjoyed pantomiming his thinking process so that apt students could learn without him having to explain, "At this pace, we will arrive around the time that the sun reaches it's peak. And yes girl, today's peak. If I was alone I would be long home though."

Embarrassed at the knowledge that she was slowing him down, Sara looked at the ground to hide the flush that crept into her face. After a moment she responded to the imagined rebuke, "I can go much faster you know. My friend Kelly and I once ran all the way round the village wall in less than the time it took mum to bake a loaf."

Reading Sara's body language, Nero thought to himself that just maybe she wasn't as emotionally stable as he'd been led to believe. He decided to probe a little further to see how she responded to losing. Sara was no use to him if she got hung up on defending herself for the sake of it. He really wanted her to be able to admit defeat and to learn humility from it.

After a few steps he asked, "And how long do you think you could keep that running pace for?"

Lifting her head with a small unconscious tilt, in imitation of his own earlier thinking posture, she then paused in her stride for a moment. Nero paused with her, turning back a little to keep her expression clearly in view. He noted the false confidence rise up as if she was about to blurt out a lie without thinking, and then amazingly he saw the embarrassed flush reappear as she realised that she was about to put her foot in it. Gradually, Sara deflated and resumed walking with her head hanging low and a sad look on her face.

"Tell me what you are thinking girl" Nero commanded in a strangely gentle voice.

"Well..." She paused to take a calming breath and took a moment to look up at his face. After a moment she decided that there was nothing mean in his intentions and let the breath out, "I'm thinking that I'm stupid and don't know as much as I thought."

She blinked back the stinging that was beginning in her eyes and took another breath, holding it with eyes scrunched tightly closed. When she blinked them open again, she was back in control.

"And how did you arrive at those thoughts?"

She looked at him again, thinking that just maybe he was wanting to rub it in, but no. His face remained neutral, definitely not like the big kids who had just started their apprenticeships and still wore expressions of smug superiority when they spoke to her.

Noticing her pause, and wanting to reassure Sara, Nero spoke again, "I'm not wanting to embarrass you further, girl. I just want to know whether you are conscious of your thought process or whether it's purely instinct that got you to the right place. And I don't mean to be cruel in repeating it, but you are right about your own ignorance, though paradoxically that is the wisest position you can hold right now. So please, open up your mind to me a little and share how you went so swiftly from cockiness to true humility."

She didn't understand everything he had just said, she wondered what a paradox was for instance, but right then Sara decided to trust Nero with everything. She could see that he meant her no harm and he spoke to her as if she was a real person with value. In his willingness to be gentle but still probing at something that hurt in order to release the pressure, she found a love for this strange man that had been missing since her father had passed.

So, once again, would you read more?