Goals Move Us and Shape US

my friend carol van akin had a goal in mind. i knew her in high school and her goal was to receive a diving scholarship from the university of nebraska all through her high school years, this goal motivated her in incredible ways. it inspired her to wake up early in the morning and hit the gym. it inspired her everyday after school as she was in the pool diving over and over again, for hours at a time. it affected her eating habits, choosing to eat healthy salads and bottled water rather than cheeseburgers and tacos (like i was eating). she would often leave our parties early so that she could be up early hitting the weights the next day. she would go to bed rehearsing dives in her mind and she would wake up thinking about them and what she needed to work on that day. her goal of making the college diving team affected nearly every aspect of her life.

that was, until march of her senior year. you see, after the conclusion of the nebraska high school diving season and the state competition, she was unfortunately notified that she would not be receiving the diving scholarship she desperately desired. she had poured her heart and her soul into realizing that goal, but it had vanished and was out of her reach. needless to say, carol was heart-broken.

but you should have seen carol the rest of her senior year! once she came to grasp that it was not meant to be, her life changed drastically and radically. suddenly, almost overnight, she began spending tons of time with her friends, not only after school but also staying later and later at their parties. why not, she had no reason to wake up early in the morning anymore. she started ordering cheeseburgers and soda instead of salads and water (which made us feel better about ourselves, by the way). she began sleeping in on weekends instead of hitting the gym at 6 in the morning. it was almost as if she had a different life before and after the birth and death of her goals. she became a completely different person.

the truth is goals move us and goals shape us. our goals affect us and they affect the way we go about living our lives.

i have been hesitant to set too many minimalism goals in my minimalist journey thus far. becoming minimalist has never been about getting down to 100 things for me, it has been about removing clutter, simplifying my life, and valuing people more than things.

but today, i broke my streak and set my first goal. our storage room in the basment is a disaster – it always has been and has become even more cluttered since we started this minimalism journey (thanks in part to leveling). my goal is this: everything in my storage basement must fit neatly on the shelves against the wall. that’s it, simple enough - nothing can be stored on the floor and no new shelving can be built. so, that’s the goal. and i’m starting tonight. i’ll let you know how we do.