WEBVTT 00:18.180 --> 00:21.580 human beings love the idea of hitting a 00:21.580 --> 00:24.660 target . In fact , we love it so much . 00:24.660 --> 00:27.050 We enjoy watching other people hit 00:27.050 --> 00:29.720 targets as well . We will spend a 00:29.720 --> 00:31.750 considerable amount of money at 00:31.750 --> 00:34.630 watching people identifying aim move 00:34.630 --> 00:36.780 towards that target and hopefully hit 00:36.790 --> 00:39.180 the target . That's what basketball 00:39.180 --> 00:41.100 players do . Football players , 00:41.100 --> 00:43.322 baseball players , golfers , boulders , 00:43.490 --> 00:46.370 They identify a target and they hit it . 00:47.140 --> 00:49.850 What is true in sports is also true in 00:49.850 --> 00:52.780 life . The only way an athlete can 00:52.780 --> 00:55.490 meaningfully engage with the game is to 00:55.490 --> 00:58.150 identify and aim and move towards the 00:58.150 --> 01:01.140 target . The only way we can 01:01.140 --> 01:03.580 meaningfully engage with life is the 01:03.580 --> 01:06.820 same way we choose something to focus 01:06.820 --> 01:10.230 on . We move towards that goal and we 01:10.230 --> 01:12.860 focus our aim . When we move towards 01:12.860 --> 01:15.510 that target , we experience our most 01:15.520 --> 01:18.100 intense , positive emotions . 01:19.370 --> 01:21.537 Achieving progress towards attaining a 01:21.537 --> 01:23.540 goal gives us more pleasure than 01:23.540 --> 01:26.130 actually consuming something . That's 01:26.130 --> 01:28.352 why when you are in the zone working on 01:28.352 --> 01:30.730 a project and you are moving toward 01:30.730 --> 01:33.100 your goal of achieving that you 01:33.100 --> 01:35.370 actually may forget to eat something . 01:35.730 --> 01:38.570 The positive emotion of moving toward 01:38.570 --> 01:40.850 your goal is more valuable than 01:40.860 --> 01:43.810 actually consuming something . We 01:43.810 --> 01:45.980 choose our targets we choose . Our 01:45.980 --> 01:49.370 goals are destinations based on what we 01:49.370 --> 01:52.380 think is valuable in life . If you want 01:52.380 --> 01:54.850 to know what people really value , look 01:54.850 --> 01:57.010 at what their goals are , not at what 01:57.020 --> 02:00.210 they say their values are . Do you know 02:00.210 --> 02:02.154 why the chicken crossed the road ? 02:02.740 --> 02:04.851 Because the chicken thought the other 02:04.851 --> 02:07.160 side of the road was better . It's that 02:07.160 --> 02:10.570 simple . We Onley move towards a goal 02:10.570 --> 02:13.470 that we believe has value . We only 02:13.470 --> 02:15.960 move towards at place that we think is 02:15.960 --> 02:18.120 better than where we currently find 02:18.120 --> 02:20.690 ourselves . If the chicken didn't think 02:20.690 --> 02:22.912 the other side of the road was better , 02:22.912 --> 02:25.023 the chicken would have stayed exactly 02:25.023 --> 02:27.190 where they had been . There would have 02:27.190 --> 02:30.370 been no need to move and so the same is 02:30.370 --> 02:34.150 true with us . We only moved towards a 02:34.160 --> 02:37.490 goal we believe is valuable because we 02:37.490 --> 02:40.410 believe that that destination is better 02:40.410 --> 02:42.688 than where we presently find ourselves . 02:43.720 --> 02:45.830 Once we've identified a goal and 02:45.830 --> 02:48.470 decided we want to move towards it , we 02:48.470 --> 02:50.790 accept responsibility for taking the 02:50.790 --> 02:53.390 actions necessary to achieve that goal . 02:53.940 --> 02:55.773 And it is through accepting that 02:55.773 --> 02:57.960 responsibility that we actually 02:57.960 --> 03:00.580 discover a sense of meaning and purpose 03:00.590 --> 03:04.000 in our lives . While responsibilities 03:04.000 --> 03:06.430 can feel like a burden at times . 03:06.690 --> 03:09.500 Knowing that we have a responsibility 03:09.500 --> 03:11.960 for taking steps towards a valuable 03:12.260 --> 03:15.340 ultimate goal is one way we get through 03:15.340 --> 03:18.560 difficult times . A mother endures the 03:18.560 --> 03:21.240 pain of childbirth because she knows 03:21.510 --> 03:24.680 that this responsibility is a necessary 03:24.680 --> 03:27.580 step towards moving to the ultimate 03:27.580 --> 03:29.850 goal of nurturing a new life that is 03:29.850 --> 03:32.010 filled with incredible possibility . 03:32.940 --> 03:36.050 The greater the object of our aim 03:36.640 --> 03:40.390 and focus the nobler our goal , 03:40.560 --> 03:43.410 the more it transcends or exist beyond 03:43.410 --> 03:46.780 ourselves , the deeper our sense of 03:46.780 --> 03:49.510 meaning and purpose , the deeper our 03:49.510 --> 03:52.190 sense of meaning and purpose , the more 03:52.200 --> 03:54.870 able we are to withstand difficulties 03:54.960 --> 03:57.450 and the better quality of our lives . 03:58.170 --> 04:00.740 That's because we can see how the 04:00.740 --> 04:03.900 mundane tasks that we do every day fit 04:03.900 --> 04:06.150 together to help us achieve the larger 04:06.150 --> 04:08.870 goals of our lives . We are willing to 04:08.870 --> 04:11.640 pay the price of difficulty for the 04:11.640 --> 04:13.850 valuable object of our aim . 04:15.340 --> 04:18.260 Difficult days like experiencing a 04:18.260 --> 04:20.300 global pandemic can cause us to 04:20.300 --> 04:23.100 experience negative emotions . Our 04:23.100 --> 04:25.350 ability to move towards a goal to make 04:25.360 --> 04:27.550 progress and hitting our targets has 04:27.550 --> 04:30.340 been frustrated , and we may realize 04:30.340 --> 04:32.650 that our goals are targets aren't 04:32.660 --> 04:35.400 actually great enough . They aren't 04:35.400 --> 04:37.400 transcended enough or big enough to 04:37.400 --> 04:40.150 justify the difficulties we are facing . 04:40.820 --> 04:44.280 Shallow aims cannot sustain difficult 04:44.280 --> 04:47.430 days . If you feel discouraged or 04:47.430 --> 04:49.652 frustrated , let me encourage you to do 04:49.652 --> 04:52.730 the following things . One . Consider 04:52.730 --> 04:55.130 what you are aiming at in your life and 04:55.130 --> 04:57.186 identify the steps you would need to 04:57.186 --> 05:00.020 take to get there . Then do something 05:00.020 --> 05:03.330 about it . Act to 05:03.510 --> 05:05.620 decide whether you've got a great 05:05.630 --> 05:07.970 enough target . Is it the kind of 05:07.970 --> 05:10.310 destination that will provide the kind 05:10.310 --> 05:12.143 of meaning and purpose that will 05:12.143 --> 05:14.890 require both great responsibility and 05:14.890 --> 05:18.260 provide ultimate fulfillment ? If not , 05:18.590 --> 05:20.950 it's time for you to trade up 05:22.200 --> 05:25.570 moving towards a worthy big enough goal 05:25.570 --> 05:28.240 step by step . Accepting increasing 05:28.240 --> 05:30.980 responsibility along the way is the 05:30.980 --> 05:34.080 only way to truly experience meaningful 05:34.080 --> 05:37.900 joy . And we need plenty of joy 05:38.110 --> 05:39.890 during difficult days .