avatarDennett

Summary

The author reflects on their personal shift from setting specific goals to embracing vague ideas as a more fulfilling approach to aging and creativity.

Abstract

The article titled "Vague Ideas are My Goals" is an introspective essay on the author's evolving perspective on goal-making, particularly in the context of aging and creativity. The author, who has recently become a senior and semi-retired, describes a lifelong aversion to rigid goals, finding them to be unfulfilling and often unmet due to life's demands, such as raising grandchildren and managing a busy client schedule. Now, with more time and autonomy, the author rejects the structure of goal-setting in favor of cultivating vague ideas that allow for spontaneity and adaptability. These ideas are noted in various forms, some forgotten by instead choosing to let them percolate in the mind or even be forgotten, emphasizing the freedom that comes with less time left in life. The author acknowledges the utility of goals for those who are younger and more actively engaged in life's pursuits but advocates for a more fluid approach to planning as one ages, with the primary goal being to live and create in the moment.

Opinions

  • The author views the setting of specific goals as a burdensome obligation that often leads to a sense of failure when not achieved.
  • Aging is seen as liberating, providing the author with a reason to abandon traditional goal-setting and embrace a more flexible approach to life.
  • The author believes that the time and energy once spent on meeting goals are better invested in living and creating without strict planning.
  • There is a recognition that goals, while potentially helpful for some, particularly the young and ambitious, are not universally beneficial or necessary for personal fulfillment.
  • The essay suggests that the act of creating, even without a clear end goal, is a valuable and enriching pursuit.
  • The author's main goal is to simply be present for another day, open to whatever experiences or creations may come.

Flint and Steel Prompt / October Writing Goals

Vague Ideas are My Goals

An essay on aging and goal-making

Photo by Isaac Smith on Unsplash

I’m not knocking the October Writing Goals Prompt. I just don’t need or want goals anymore. Call it a reaction to aging or lessons learned or I’m too old for this shit. Since officially becoming a senior, I avoid have-tos and shoulds.

Maybe, I shy away from goals because now that I’m semi-retired; I have more time and don’t need all that structure.

But, truthfully, I never liked goals. I’d set them, review them, try a little, try a lot — then, scratch each one. Not because I reached it. Because I didn’t.

No, I did not feel like a failure. Especially when the missed goal had to do with creativity.

I felt like a busy person. I worked a lot of long hours for as many as 20 clients, running from office to office.

I helped raise my grandchildren from the ages of one and three to nine and eleven.

My goals were to get kids to school, fed, bathed, and in bed while giving all the life-sucking attention I had left to my clients.

I made other goals from time to time. And, they sat like inked soldiers, laughing at me.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Now, my grandchildren are far away, getting themselves ready for school, doing what they need to do without me.

Now, my clients take less of my time.

Now, I have more control over how my hours are spent. And, I will not spend them making goals.

Instead, I spend them creating vague ideas of what I would like to do.

Aging has its benefits. And, oddly, one of those is less time left. With less time left, do I really want to spend it planning my future in bullet points? No.

I want to spend my precious time living and creating.

Rather than goals, I have vague ideas. Some I save on paper or in Medium drafts. Some just marinate in my brain. Some I forget. No worries, there are always more ideas.

I can’t give advice to anyone who is young and in the thick of life, rushing about with intention and attention. Write your goals, if they help, and I hope they do.

But, for me, my number one goal is to be here for another day. Then, I’ll see what develops.

© Dennett 2021

In response to this October Writing Goals prompt by Elin Melaas:

Flint And Steel
Goal Setting
Aging
Writing Prompts
Lessons Learned
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