The biggest level of confusion most people face in setting goals is confusing them with methods of achievement.
As Albert Einstein once remarked, "Perfection of means and confusion of goals seem in my opinion to characterize our age."
A goal is what you desire. A method is how you go about getting it.
A goal is singular and fixed, while a method can be multiple and it can vary.
If you want to be an actor or actress, that is a goal. The acting classes you take and the auditions you go to are your methods.
While the difference between a goal and a method is clear and obvious when explained in this way, much confusion arises between the two in practice.
When some people are asked why they are not achieving their goals; they say that they don't have enough money, or knowledge, or support. They believe that their lack of resources stops them. Yet these resources are only methods. They can be substituted with other methods.
If you already had all the methods in place before you started out, it would not be a goal; it would merely be fulfilling a task.
A goal asks you to stretch beyond your current means. It asks you to explore new methods, uncover new resources, develop new strategies.
Doing what you have never done before is working on achieving a goal. Merely doing what you know how to do is just working with your existing methods.
The result of mistaking methods for goals is that people tend to shuffle existing methods around while claiming to be doing something new. They do what they've always done and yet are surprised to find that they get what they have always gotten.
When Joseph Campbell advised people to follow their bliss, he meant that they should do what they heart desired, not make do with what they already had before them.
Thus a goal is an end, and a method is a means to that end.
Confusing one with the other results in no growth at all.
Robert Fritz explained it in the following way:
"The way you activate the seeds of your creation is by making choices about the results you want to create. When you make a choice, you mobilize vast human energies and resources which otherwise go untapped. All too often people fail to focus their choices upon results and therefore their choices are ineffective. If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise."
Clear The Way Mask
The herding dog has a long history, tracing as far back as Neolithic times in Europe when early farmers and domesticators in lands that are now Britain needed a more efficient, quicker way to move livestock from one place to another.
These early herding dogs were very large and powerful dogs. They were generally rough with the livestock and could be quite hard to control for their owners, but had an uncanny ability to gather and herd livestock.
By the nineteenth century, it became apparent that a dog that was both more versatile and more gentle with the animals was needed. Farmers could not afford to feed multiple large dogs for their needs.
They required a single dog who could not only nimbly gather and keep an eye on sheep and other livestock, but also hunt game and sniff out sheep that might have been buried in snow.
With a bond so close that required the farmer to trust his dog explicitly, he also needed an animal that was more cooperative and affectionate. It needed to be sensitive to the human voice, a whistle and hand gestures as it would be working alone, far away from the farmer in the field.
For that reason, there were multiple breeds introduced into the early strain of herding dogs.
The Whippet was selected because it was both quiet and quick. Pointers and setters were used to provide a good nose and a keen eye. Eventually, the perfect breed of dog developed ?one that had a superior athletic inclination, light and fast movement, unmistakable livestock sense, and a good temperament that easily matched its handler.
The first modern herding dog, the Border Collie was introduced in 1894 in Northumbria, along the English and Scottish Border.
In other countries, the same early ancestors of that first Border Collie began to spread out, taking on work in the growing expanse of the United States West. Cattle herding dogs soon became common and immigrants arrived with other livestock that could live comfortably off of the land, along with their herding dogs.
Today, there are many breeds of herding dogs, all developed in the same manner or from the same breeding as the Border Collie, with the goal of creating a breed that was both quick and quiet, but able to bond well with its owner and seek out livestock easily.
Various types of herding dogs included the German Shepherd, Shetland Sheepdog, Australian Cattle Dog, Bearded Collie, and many more.
Each breed has become well known in the years since those early breeds were developed as a loyal, intelligent and highly trainable breed of dog. Today, most herding dogs are kept as pets by families rather than used in the field to herd sheep.
Because they were bred to connect with their owners so well and be so sociable, herding dogs make ideal pets, both gentle and familiar with children and playful with adults.
Herding dogs have a vast supply of energy and a seemingly human-like intelligence at times, all hallmarks of their careful breeding.
Both Saleem Rana & John E Adams are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Saleem Rana has sinced written about articles on various topics from Parenting, Travel and Leisure and Careers and Job Hunting. Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas His book Never Ever Give Up tells you how. It is offered at no cost as a way to help YOU succeed.
