every goal has four dimensions
Every goal has four dimensions.*
Mind, heart, body, soul.
They’re all interconnected. Although one dimension is usually dominant – maybe you’re trying to solve a problem or come up with a plan (mental), or find a mate or bond with your teenager (emotional), or run a marathon or declutter your house (physical), or ascend to a higher state of mind or connect to some cause or movement bigger than yourself (spiritual) – the successful achievement of this goal involves the other dimensions as well.
For example.
I am preparing a talk to give at TEDXWomen in Los Angeles on Dec 5 – which is coming up maybe faster than I would like.
I want to crush it.
The big goal (crushing it) chunks up into smaller goals, each involving one of the dimensions.
Mind: I outline, write, and then revise the talk for maximum impact. I think about my big idea, my supporting ideas, and the intellectual shift I’d like to create within the collective mind of my audience.
Heart: I touch base with the organizers of the event (Dana and Kristan), who keep tabs on how the talk is progressing. (TED controls the brand pretty tightly.) I practice my talk on friends and family and any other innocent spectator unfortunate enough to be standing nearby. I receive coaching and suggestions.
I think about the kind of connection I want to form with the audience. I aim for a certain kind of emotional impact and structure my talk accordingly.
Body: I practice – over and over – giving the talk. When the day comes I haul myself to the appropriate location, deal with my nerves, hope I wore the right outfit, act like I’m more confident than I am. If I’ve rehearsed enough, the talk will be trained so deeply into my body that it will take over once I am onstage, no matter how nervous I am.
Soul: I seek a connected and creative state of mind. I want to walk away from this experience feeling like I’ve both grown from it, and contributed to the growth of others. (That would be incredibly cool.) I am part of a community.
We get in trouble, I think, when the different parts of ourselves are not aligned. Instead of building on each other towards a single point, they are in conflict. They pull us in different directions. They disrupt our focus and scatter our energy.
The mind urges you in one direction, but the body rebels and suddenly it’s difficult to get yourself out of bed.
The heart yearns and gnaws on itself and spins you off into distraction, loneliness and daydream.
The soul feels ignored and starts closing in on itself: you descend into a state of resentment, bitterness, alienation.
Mind, heart, body, soul.
Every goal has four dimensions.
mind, heart, body, soul: every goal has 4 dimensions. click to tweet
* Inspired by the book STEALING FIRE FROM THE GODS by James Bonnet
