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Why I Stopped Chasing Goals

I’ve always wondered if chasing big goals is actually making people feel worse. Over time, I learned something simpler and more powerful and it changed my life.

For a long time, wherever I read books or listened to self help talks, there was always so much focus on setting goals. Everybody kept saying, write down your big goals, chase them, push yourself. But somehow, it never felt right to me. In fact, I started feeling that this is the reason why many people around me feel low, frustrated or even lost.

I have always believed something else. I feel if you just set the right intention every day, you will reach wherever you are meant to reach. Goals feel like a burden sometimes, but intentions feel lighter. They keep you moving without that heavy pressure.

I have seen this in my own life. At work, when I kept saying I must become this or earn that much in a year, I was always anxious. The day I decided to just show up every day, do my work well, help people around me and learn something new, things started falling in place. Without running behind it, I got better roles, better money and respect.

Even with my health. Earlier I used to say I need to lose 10 kilos in 3 months. I would go to the gym for a week, then miss a few days and feel like a failure. Then one day I decided, I will just eat clean, walk every day and listen to my body. Slowly, without even noticing, my health improved and I felt good about myself.

I noticed this in small daily habits too. Earlier I used to think I must finish reading 20 books in a year. I would start a book, count the pages left, and give up midway feeling guilty. Now I just set an intention to read even a few pages every night before sleeping. And before I know, I finish more books and actually enjoy them.

What I’ve learned is this. Goals are just destinations. But life happens in the journey. If your intention is clear, every small step you take feels meaningful. Every day you feel alive. And slowly you realise, you have already reached where you wanted to.

At the end of the day, it’s not about how fast you reach somewhere. It’s about how you feel on the way. Set the right intention every morning, and the rest will take care of itself.

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