Goals, plans, and the Taoist perspective...

Making plans, setting goals, and other activities that give us a "sense" of control over what happens in our life, are the ways in which we shield ourselves from the fact that most of what happens to us is completely out of our control. Once we surrender our need to be in control, we learn to "respond", rather than "react," to life. That surrender can be a monumental shift in mindset, and one that makes a huge difference in how we approach life and our relationships.

Life has an almost amusing way of delivering lessons to us in the areas we are most in need of growth. Whether we choose to recognize the intended lesson at the time it is delivered, will determine how many more times we will be challenged to learn it once and for all.

When bad things happen, we have a choice to adopt either a "Why me?" or "What's the lesson in this?" posture. One choice makes us a "Victim of Life", the other a "Life Scholar."