Albert Einstein once said, "If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.
" I can say I've worked hard enough to discipline my mind that way.
My greatest joys have been, not just reaching the goals I set, but then in setting the next one.
Looking for the next mountain, the next adventure.
This not only keeps me going, but gives me excitement in the journey.
To those who are regular readers, know I have written this before, and it is common theme in many of my stories for the kids.
Like most parents, I truly want the kids to have a happy, satisfying life.
Setting a goal, reaching that goal, and then setting the next goal, is what has made my life a satisfying one.
People who have asked how I keep my spirits up, this is how.
I always have some goal I'm working toward, some dream I'm chasing.
I was asked once by one of the kids, "How do you know when you're old?" "You're old when you stop chasing your dreams.
You're old the minute you believe that dreams don't come true," was my answer.
I look at the kids who have no goals.
They also are not very satisfied, nor are they happy.
An idle life never leads to happiness.
I believe this is why children of "privilege" usually become a mess.
They don't have to work for anything.
The thing that bothers me, is the young ones are taking these messes and turning them into heroes.
I blame the parents on that.
In an effort to be their kid's friend, instead of being a parent, they are afraid to say, " I don't want that filth in my house.
" They are afraid of looking un-cool, they are afraid of turning into their parents.
But that's another topic, for another time.
I can spot in an instant a child who's parents have taught them to set reasonable expectations on themselves, to set and work towards a goal.
I can tell very quickly which children have a goal, a dream, and those who don't.
If you work with children, I bet you can spot them, too.
It's easy to tell a child who is looking forward to the future, and those that don't.
When a child sets his goals, and works towards it, and then achieves it, they learn that it is their own efforts that will accomplish their goals.
You teach a child this, and their chance at a happy life raises exponentially.
The key to this, from my experience, is not setting the child's goals for them.
This means teaching the child to set goals for themselves.
All parents should set some goals and expectations on the child.
That's part of parenting, a necessary part.
However, many neglect to teach, or allow, the child to set their own goals, to have their own dreams.
Just as damaging though, as not setting any goals for the child, is setting goals a child can't reach.
The key to teaching a child about goals, is that those goals must be attainable.
Once they learn how to achieve small dreams, it's very easy to teach them to dream big.
A child who knows that dreams can come true is a much happier child.
And turns into a much happier adult.
For me, I have always thought of a goal as a journey, an adventure, a treasure hunt.
I find a sense of adventure in figuring out how I'm going to achieve my next goal, in plotting and planning my next triumph.
I just reached a goal I set for the website.
Not only reached it, but blew by it so far, I barely caught it in the rear view mirror.
As satisfying as that was, I got more excited because now, I get to set the next goal.
I immediately jumped into my next "treasure hunt".
So, those that are following the new series on the blog, know where this is going.
What keeps me excited, keeps me young at heart, is always having a treasure hunt that I'm on.
So, as I told the Boy Captain, "So the first thing I learned about becoming a Pirate Captain, is that you have to have a sense of adventure in your soul.
You had to have a longing for the open seas in your heart.
' - Uncle Mike