As we are nearing the end of the year, now is your last chance to work on completing this year’s resolution before the ball drops (if you haven’t done so already), and start thinking of a new one for 2016.
We’ve talked a lot about setting and working towards goals. I want to take some time and focus on the collective – the importance of helping other people meet their goals.
When you set and work towards goals, you become an artist, painting the canvas of your life. With each goal, you start with a blank canvas, and stroke by stroke, you work to paint a masterpiece. And when you’re done, you start anew. An artist doesn’t simply create one piece of art and then stop. They start again with a blank canvas and work on a new creation.
Art is a continual process. For an artist, the act of creation doesn’t end when one project is done. Imagine what the world would be like if Walt Disney had stopped at the creation of Mickey Mouse – we’d have no Disneyland.
While we many finish individual projects, art is a process that is never done. The same concept applies to goals. We may achieve, or not achieve, certain goals, but that doesn’t mean our work is done. Just as artists and inventors continue to practice their art until they’ve amassed their life’s work, we are constantly setting and working towards goals. The collection of our goals becomes our life’s work. With each goal, we start with a blank canvas and create something beautiful. The sum of our goals, and the journey to reach them, becomes our life’s portfolio of artwork.
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” – Audrey Hepburn
It is important to set goals for personal achievement, but it is equally as important to set goals that aid others in painting their canvas. When you look back on your life’s work – do you want to see someone who worked solely for their own good, or someone who gave back to those in need around them. From friends to strangers, there are plenty of people in need and many ways you can help.
We talk about wanting to see change in this world; and end to poverty, war, illness, death, etc. That change won’t come unless we paint it so. With a simple brush stroke of the following keys – hope4hearts.org – you can help by making a year-end donation.
With Love and Compassion,
Cristen
