Achieve the Biggest Goals by Following Your Own Clues

I have a wise mentor who has said numerous times that goals aren't worth making unless

1) You have data that supports the goals in the first place;
2) The goal itself is objectively measurable

Although I have for a long time greatly admired this mentor I tend to disagree. Perhaps I disagree only because my style with goals is quite different.

When I think of goals now I think of something fluid and changing....something that reveals itself to you. This may sound very esoteric and probably like I'm taking some sort of drug but if you think about the most ambitious goals the the goals we really believe will make the most difference they are often VERY VAGUE! Think about these goals:

1) I want to be more loving;
2) I want to experience unconditional love;
3) I want to share my life with someone who accepts everything about me;
4) I want to contribute something great to the world;
5) I want to be an inspiration to others

What do these goals have in common? What they have in common is that they are not strictly defined. For goal #1 person A could achieve a state of "being more loving" through more service while person B could achieve it by loving himself/herself while person C could feel more loving in every way by increasing his/her study or meditation regarding love. The way in which we achieve the most important goals if very different to each of our personal stories.

FOLLOW YOU GOAL
This is why I believe it's important to choose vague goals that can not be objectively measured but that will be obviously beneficial when they are achieved.

These goals are frustrating to people who like Excel spreadsheets and step-by-step instructions but in a way you can still have that.

When you start chasing a vague goal you do things and think things that you believe might get you closer and then you do something surprising.

YOU WAIT AND YOU LISTEN AND YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE NORMALLY. THAT'S IT.

And then pretty soon you will have a new insight about your goal. You might get this insight in the following ways:

1) You start to notice patterns in your life that you didn't notice before and you realize, once you see the pattern, how you could break it or strengthen it
2) You notice that some people resonate with your goal and others don't. You don't know how you know this. You just do. So you say goodbye (perhaps temporarily) to those who are holding you back and are thankful to everyone
3) You begin to have thoughts that are not common to what people normally talk about. This may seem scary to have thoughts that many people would not approve of if you said them aloud but you could write them down especially if you see a connection between them and your goal.

Basically, the idea is that you will receive clues as you get closer and closer to your goal, until one day you realize that you have achieved your goal and that it happened in a mysterious way that probably surprises you a great deal.