1000 goals

At the recommendation of Rick Tamlyn, a coach I’ve known for a long time now, this spring I started reading A Happy Pocket Full of Money: Infinite Wealth and Abundance in the Here and Now, by David Cameron Gikandi.

What first piqued my interest, before even picking up the book, was Rick’s invitation to make a list of 1000 goals for my life! At first, I had a lot of resistance to it. 1000 goals? How is it even possible to accomplish that much in a lifetime? Why do we always have to be striving for something? Why can’t I just be content with what I have?

But I started the practice anyway, and found it to be interesting and challenging. The idea is to allow yourself to dream a little bit. Of course, they can be small goals – like walking more. Financial goals, like paying off debt or buying a new car. Personal goals, like finding healing in relationships. Societal goals, like restoring democracy. It doesn’t all have to do with accumulating a lot of stuff, something else I’m resistant to.

I’ve been working on my list of goals on and off for a few weeks now, and it’s hard! I’m up to 179, which feels both like a ton and also like it’s nowhere near 1000 (or 5000, the number Gikandi recommends).

So why make goals? Gikandi writes, “You have to know where you wish to go if you wish to make sure you get there.” I 100% agree with that, and there’s also a lot of nuance involved in it. Dreaming involves images, visions, plans, trust and faith. Having goals involves letting go of how I think something is going to unfold and working through fear and doubt. Having a desire for something means risking failure, disappointment, or getting hurt along the way.

In the book, there’s also an invitation to better understand quantum physics and how the laws of the universe play into our ability to experience wealth, abundance, joy, and what we want for our lives and our world.

This type of dreaming feels important as the United States slides further into authoritarianism. Goal-setting isn’t selfish, I’m reminding myself. It’s a practice of abundance to imagine me having everything I need and desire, and my neighbor having everything they need and desire, and the trees and the birds and the water having everything they need and desire. Doubts, fears, and a scarcity mindset may show up in the process. But already through this practice of goal-setting, and reading the rest of the book, I’ve learned and been reminded of so much. Not just about creating wealth consciousness, but about energy and physics and spirituality and how the world works.

If something in this speaks to you, try seeing how many goals you can come up with for yourself, your family, your community, and the world. And check out the book, too! I’d love to hear what you think.