Goals

"Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Using the words scribed above by Emerson as metaphor, one can think of "thought" as vision, language the "mission," and action the "goal." Basic instruction in the development of goals emphasizes the importance of stating one's goals in action terms. However, if the goal-setter is not willing to stretch beyond rhetoric, the outcome will still be pretty much the same; nothing noteworthy. Some people feel ill at ease developing or "setting" goals that appear unattainable. We are told that if a person cannot with certain assurance achieve a goal s/he sets, discouragement will result in defeat; mission impossible. Are we not shortchanging ourselves though if we are not willing to stretch, to reach beyond our calculated and self-imposed limits, or the limits set for us by others?

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short,

but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark."

— Michelangelo

There is a more important reason why goals need to be spoken of as actions. Goals that are meaningful to us cause a stirring, a motivating force that stokes the internal fires of ambition, courage, and imagination. The unseen becomes a magnetic attraction that draws the person or persons toward it as surely as gravity pulls us to earth. George Bernard Shaw speaks of the quickening that follows the conception of meaningful goals. He notes, "I tell you that as long as I can conceive something better than myself I cannot be easy unless I am striving to bring it into existence or clearing the way for it."

Another realization that comes with the development and pursuit of worthwhile goals is they can be allusive and in a constant state of metamorphosis, especially the closer we come to achieving them. This can be the result of many forces at work on both the goal and the pursuer. One cannot journey on the path to something better, higher, of greater value, without experiencing change along the way. Such change of "self" automatically changes the other variables connected to the pursuit of a goal. As noted by Heraclitis centuries ago, "You cannot step twice into the same river; for fresh waters are ever flowing in on you." Each step one takes toward his or her goal, changes the flow of things, even if only imperceptively. Deny this perspective if you wish, but test it for yourself. A goal is something desired, not something already in possession. If the intent of pursuing the goal is not to bring about a change of some sort, then why on earth would a person claim to be working to attain it?

Equally important, for a goal to have value and meaning for a person or organization, it must lead one through unknown territory. Since, ideally, one is breaking a new trail when working toward his or her goal, then s/he might do well to follow the suggestion of an unknown author who stated, "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail ..." Chin-Ning Chu offered similar advice in a distant past, noting, "A successful life is one that is lived through understanding and pursuing one's own path, not chasing after the dreams of others."

The Children's Champion believes that schools need to consider that which has been suggested in this offering as they approach the goal-setting section of their strategic plan. Educational leaders, regardless of their title, or position within the organization, need to be willing to "stretch;" to risk. A colleague once noted that if an astronaut was to go out into space for 50 years and return to earth that the one business or organization that he would not have trouble identifying would be schools. Goals by their very nature must exist somewhere in the future. To attain worthwhile goals, one is going to have to let go his or her death-grip on the past in order to advance into the future. It is difficult to find school vision and mission statements, where they exist, that do not speak to preparing children for the future. If our schools truly want to witness their vision and mission statements manifested, then there must be acceptance of change, risk, discomfort, and, yes, even failure. After all, schools are institutions of learning and educators understand that some of the greatest lessons learned are the results of some form of failure. Why, then, should we want to anchor our goals - our forward-looking thoughts - to bedrock. Doing so may bring about an illusion of security, but it will not get us where we want to go; the future. A little earthquake to loosen up the bedrock, anyone?

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

--Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken