Dreams, goals and the difference between the two

Thats right, contrary to popular belief, they aren't the same thing. Related? Yes. Synonomous? Not even close.

A few years back, a wise coach taught this young grasshopper that dreams are just that, merely fantasies - goals, on the other hand, are future accomplishments worth striving for. So how do you differentiate between the two? It's as simple as pen and paper - or a keyboard and computer screen, really. Dreams exist in the abstract, mere figments of the imagination if you will. Goals, however, escape from the black and take written form for all eyes to see. Therein lies not only the difference, but also the connection between the two. Goals begin as dreams, but then take form as a definite something to go after and beat mercilessly into submission. It's such a remarkable relationship, they even made a t-shirt out of it (see end of last sentence). Dreams come and go - goals, however, stare you right back in the face and scream one word: accountability.

Those of you actually still reading may see where I'm trying to go with this. I'm a very goal-oriented person, but I am also guilty of being a dreamer - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's a completely logical relationship, in fact, as all goals must start off as dreams. (n.b. I'm also a philosophy major, in case the overall theme of this entry hasn't revealed that already.) But that's neither here nor there, the real purpose of this entry is two-fold. First and foremost, the above paragraphs will hopefully give those of you reading this something to think about and possibly apply to your own lives. Second, and selfishly, these same paragraphs serve as a reminder to myself of my own goals for the upcoming year - going hand in hand with that whole accountability thing I mentioned earlier.

So just what ARE my goals for the upcoming year? Well, good question. The list itself is rather lengthy and multifaceted, but thats OK - all the more things for me to strive for. Ideally, this blog will be a place where dreams become goals and their progress gets tracked.
With all that being said, its time to put my intentions into action.

* Goal # 1 for this blog: 365 entries over the next year - one per day, every day. Simple as that.
* #2: Finish this list tomorrow, as it's now 11:20 p.m. and time to go home from work.

Sorry for the rather anticlimactic ending...but hey, at least I accomplished what I set out to do in this entry, with 33 minutes to spare no less - not a bad start.

Goodnight.