Setting goals, day 1 Detox challenge 040

Day 1: First consider what you want to achieve, and then commit to it.

Setting goals helps trigger new behaviours, helps guides your focus and helps you sustain that momentum in life. Goals also help align your focus and promote a sense of self-mastery.

Did you know that on average, it takes more than 2 months before a new behaviour becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact. And that people are more likely to be happier and achieve their goals when they have specific goals in mind rather than goals that are very general and vague. This is because if you can describe your goals in more specific terms, then often you’ll have a better idea of the kinds of actions you need to take to actually get to those goals.

Goals in spiritual practice
There’s a lot of confusion about whether goals have a place in Yoga or Buddhist practice. These practices are about “being in the moment.” right? And if you’re in the moment you shouldn’t be thinking about the future. And goals are a form of clinging, and we’re not supposed to cling, and so therefore goals have no place in spiritual practice, right? Of course, there can be problems with goals.
Goals can be something we cling to inappropriately, and so we end up giving ourselves a hard time when we don’t meet them. So that’s one problem with goals; they can be something we grasp after, and when we grasp after them they cause us to suffer. What’s the solution to grasping after achieving goals? We don’t hold our goals as expectations, and therefore don’t beat ourselves up when we don’t achieve them. We hold our goals lightly, so that they represent the direction in which we want to move rather than something we must achieve. We accept that change is messy and unpredictable. And mostly importantly we accept that we have to start from where we are right now. We accept the present moment, because anything good that happens in our practice comes from acceptance. We just need to make sure that we have appropriate goals, and that we don’t cling to them.

Without goals, there is no spiritual growth.

Challenge rules

1. So here is the first day 1 of the Detox Challenge 040:
   What would be your goal(s) for this 40 days detox challenge? Take some time today to take some quiet time and think about this and put your goal(s) on paper (try to be specific). Set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) goals that motivate you and write them down to make them feel tangible. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. Sharing our goals with others allows us to tap into this basic human need. Providing positive reinforcement. 
2. Let’s hear your goals! Post a photo or video to your Instagram feed -show us your daily detox moments.
3. Follow and tag @deyogastudio and @fiekeyoga and #detoxchallange040 and #yogaeindhoven.