Many people, while trying to achieve their goal, forget the objective for which the goal is pursued. They largely focus on the goal itself and ignore the “objective” for which they are trying to achieve that particular goal.
Goal can be described as something you want to acquire or achieve, but objective of the goal is the “purpose” for which you want to achieve or acquire it.
For example, one’s goal could be to earn a lot of money, own a big house, a big car, have comfort and luxury, have a name, fame, status, recognition etc., but the objective to acquire these things is to gain happiness and live peacefully.
The question is: is everybody who has earnea lot of money and who owns a big house with all the possible luxuries happy in life? Or is it that the people who do not own any or all of these things are unhappy? If there is clarity on the objective for which a goal is being pursued, then irrespective of whether or not one earns a lot of money or owns a big house, one will still try to be happy as s/he knows that life’s objective is to be happy and not merely to be content with materialistic things.
One might have chosen money, bungalow or career as the medium to be happy. But if that does not give happiness then acquiring them becomes a waste. Once we realise that these things are just the “means” to be happy and not the “end” in itself, our happiness will not depend on them.
Another example could be when you have to travel from point A to point B in your city. Ideally, you may choose a medium to reach your destination in the shortest time and in a comfortable manner. But, eventually, your goal is not the medium through which you may travel but your destination. So even if you are not able to get the fastest mode of transport and a comfortable one, it should not matter how you reach your destination. You could go in an an autorickshaw, taxi, Mercedes, or it could be on foot. What should solely matter to you is the objective — getting to point B.
Hence, it is imperative that more than the goal to acquire something the objective for acquiring it is more important. This should be crystal clear. We need to consciously gauge ourselves — are we, unknowingly, assuming our path to be our objective? If yes, we need to correct it and remind ourselves of the ultimate objective.
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