We all set goals in life; our personal, family, professional and societal goals. These goals keep us focussed and motivated, and on achieving them we get a sense of satisfaction. These goals in life are extremely important for our progress and well-being. But have we taken a step back and reflected on what is our goal of life?

There is a difference between our goals in life and our goal of life.

Every company sets goals for itself. Goals in the company could be profit, market share, customer satisfaction, quality, innovation, and many more. But the goal of the company could be to impact society and make a difference in the lives of all its stakeholders.

Every school has internal goals of good quality education, extra-curricular activities, academic success and all round development of children. But the goal of the school is to nurture and develop responsible, caring and capable citizens of the world.

When we recognise the subtle difference between our goals in life and our goal of life, the same activity takes on a different meaning and flavour.

Our larger goal of life sustains our energy and motivation even as we sometimes struggle to achieve our goals in life. We realise that just achieving a goal without having the larger purpose may give us temporary satisfaction, but not a sense of lasting fulfillment.

We align our goals in life to achieve our goal of life. The disconnect between the two brings about much stress and wastage of valuable time and resources. Often when we feel we are going round in circles, the answer lies in the mismatch between the goals in our life and our goal of life.

Our goals in life are ‘what’ we do. Our goal of life is ‘why’ we do anything. The why always sustains the what. Mindlessly doing something without having the larger picture in mind is not sustainable.

Not having a goal of life is like captaining a ship without a compass. We may be sailing at a good speed, but we won’t know where we are headed.

When we set an inspiring goal of life for ourselves, we give life a meaning beyond the obvious. And we realise the simple truth that we can only achieve our goal of life by giving our very best in achieving our goals in life.