Health Goals are not the only goals that add to your good health.

 How many times have you been told to stop daydreaming? Probably more than you remember. I think daydreaming can make you healthier, because it’s during those daydreaming sessions that we often find our true goals in life.

Having goals seems to help extend a person’s life. Did you ever hear of a person who worked hard all their life, looking forward to those golden years of retirement, who then passed away just weeks after receiving their gold watch? A person needs something to strive for.

The goal could be building a nice home, or raising children who are respectful of all beings. Many of us have those goals. If you do, don’t forget that you have them. Be mindful of what you’re building and raising.

Maybe you have a career goal—to be the biggest, the brightest, the best. Maybe your goal is religious in nature—to find the Buddha within, to experience compassion. Maybe your goal is to accomplish something for your favorite charity. Maybe you’d like to become great at a sport or hobby. Maybe you’d like to learn something new.

Maybe you’d like to improve your health, or change your habits.

Striving for something keeps our spirits alive, focuses our energy, and keeps us young. It gives us a reason to stay focused when life seems unworthy of our attention. It gives us an opportunity to grow, and for the life energy to flow through us. It rejuvenates our spirits.

Goals give us a way to mark time. We set a goal, plan for success, watch the growth of the goal, and, finally, accomplish something. What a sense of pride. Belief in oneself is a major part of making and meeting goals. It’s also a major result of making and meeting goals. Believing, acting, and achieving will increase your confidence. Accomplishing goals makes one happy. That improves health.

Set goals for yourself by writing them down. If you have children, I’m sure you have goals as a parent. If you’re a homeowner, you may have goals for your home environment. Make a list of the goals you already have that you hadn’t even realized were goals. Starting the list with things you’re already doing will help you to become more mindful of your daily achievements.

Next, add to the list the goals you would have if you knew you could do anything. Have fun with this list. Don’t limit yourself—just write down whatever you might want to do. Don’t judge your goals, just imagine them and write them down, no matter how farfetched they seem. Remember, all goals begin as something you’re not doing that you’d like to be doing. Large or small, all goals begin as an inkling of something that might be impossible, that you choose to believe is possible.

When your list is done, for the time being—lists change as goals change as people change, so it will never be “finished”—read it over, again trying not to judge. Maybe sailing around the world is a goal that seems impossible at this time, but who knows? Even as you read this sentence, some people actually are sailing around the world. One day, you could be one of them.

Next, for each goal, make a list of the things that would have to happen to make it come true. If I were going to sail around the world someday, some of the things that would have to happen first are: learn to sail, learn to read nautical maps, get a passport, learn boat maintenance, familiarize myself with harbors around the world, learn the basics of several widely used languages, buy a boat (or look into renting one), and; most important, somehow find the time and the money to do all of this. Now, look at this list and choose a place to start. I could start by reading books on nautical navigation. Find a beginning point and start with it. The point is to start somewhere. Once you have, you’re already closer to your goal.

Now that you have your list of “things that would have to happen,” review it regularly. That way, when things start to happen in your life that could help make your goals possible, you’ll recognize and act on them. Being mindful of your goals draws them to you, and makes you better prepared to act on them.

A life on course to accomplish goals is a life with meaning and purpose. A life full of what you want is a healthier life. Here’s wishing all your dreams come true!