Goals, Goal seeking behavior and Gaze

This blogpost is aimed at describing the difference between goals and components within a gaze.

A. Goals: commitment and persistent pursuit of a desired outcome of intrinsic value (endpoint, physical/abstract object of interest) in the short of long term future. 

Driving force (motivation): insecurity, uncertainty, fear, and desire. 

Process: It involves the following:

a. Explicitly and specifically defining goals in a structured and holistic manner. Refer to past documented and real world experience as well as know-how; seek peer feedback (other perspectives) to enrich goals.  

b. Understanding applicable and contextual processes and nuances that will facilitate achievement of goals.

c. Planning: identify, map and allocate required resources and time, define workflow, milestones, assessment windows, endpoints (primary, secondary). Also contemplate on and plan for potential limitations and possible unintended consequences. 

d. Undertake efforts (physical, mental) in the form of activities and tasks aligned with the mutually agreed workflow. Ideally begin with a pilot run to ensure that the resources, documented process and workflow are aligned.

e. Periodic qualitative and quantitative assessment of real world milestones to: 

(i). Verify alignment of objectives, overall plan, process, workflow and outcomes. Carry out course correction in case a deviation is observed.

(ii). Identify gap between current state and anticipated future state and confirm when anticipated outcomes are achieved. 

(iii). Note unintended consequences if any, make corrections in workflow if required.

Pros: 

a. Structured approach that guides and facilitates real world experience. 

Cons: 

a. Blind pursuit (obsession) of goals can lead to "tunnel vision" and lopsided growth. An individual may lose context or might burn out or indulge in unethical methods to achieve goals. Blind pursuit of particular goals might also delay and hamper other goals, real world urges and activities. 

b. Highly specific goals might be difficult to achieve.

Experience: A sense of momentary satisfaction, accomplishment, fulfillment, gratification might be felt when the desired outcome is achieved. 

B. Goal seeking behavior: The gap between current state and an anticipated future state drives goal seeking behavior. It might occur in response to consciously planned goals or unplanned ones. They may be driven by a biological urge (Physical), subconscious urges and desires (emotional, mental); unconscious urges and desires (emotional/mental). 

C. Gaze: 

A gaze sets an unbinding intention for a broad set of open ended, direct, real world experiences. It facilitates unlearning of biases; patterns; blindspots, and bridges learning gaps. It aims to enrich oneself through incremental development of self awareness and right understanding. It maps the journey but does not strictly mandate specific paths. The experiences may or may not be related. The experiences may manifest in diverse ways over time and could be partial. 

Driving force (motivation): observation, learning attitude, empathy, and compassion.

Process:

1. Look inwards, contemplate to identify and understand what really matters (~pull, connections, experiences) for the self. 

2. Observe self and the evolving journey. Periodically revisit and reassess progress and map it to the components in the gaze. 

3. Acquire new life skills, sharpen existing life skills to prepare for upcoming journey.

4. Seek open ended feedback and include it in mental model driving the journey towards the gaze.

5. Physical, emotional and mental wellness facilitate achievement of components within the gaze. They prepare the ground for required flexibility and creativity to overcome barriers and roadblocks.

Self assessment: 

a. Is one self motivated enough to patiently take required efforts? 

b. Is one grounded enough to see through the noise, connect the dots, see the underlying learning lesson and how the experience complements the larger learning journey?

c. Is one flexible and creative enough to see through limitations and understand how each part of the journey is contributing to the fulfillment of the gaze?

Pros:

a. Partially structured.

b. Unconditional, Flexible

c. Focus on learning and self development through real world experiences.

D. Comparison between Goals and Gaze

S.no.	Criteria	Goals	Gaze
1	Flexibility	To some extent.	Largely flexible.
2	Specificity	Narrow, Specific.	Broad, less specific.
3	Time	Time bound.	Not time bound.
4	Driving force	Insecurity, uncertainty, fear, and desire.	Observation, learning attitude, empathy, and compassion.

References: referred to the content and/or ideas in following references while writing this blog-post.

1. Goals, Wikipedia, URL.

2. Pattanaik, D. (2013). Business sutra: A very Indian approach to management. New Delhi: Aleph Book Company.