The unpleasant side of your goals:
Goals are really useful. It brings purpose to what you are doing. It also motivates you to accomplish more than what you would have accomplished doing it casually.
Take for example, a simple thing such as art. You could do it for fun, nothing wrong with that. But you know what would be better? Setting a goal and striving to accomplish it. Just say that your goal is to became a proffesional potrait painter. The best part of setting goals and accomplishing them is the satisfaction, joy and the feeling of accomplishment you get once it’s done.
But there too is an unpleasant side to goals. It is getting too attached to the goal. At first it may not seem like something that might cause a lot of harm, but once an obstacle arises in the path of your goal which could be destructive and risky, your attachment could destroy you.
Difference between Attachment and addiction:
Attachment is like addiction, although not the same. When you get “addicted” to something, 9/10 times you would know that it’s bad for you and would try to stop the addiction. Meanwhile, you might get “attached” to anything, good or bad, and you neccesarily won’t know whether your attachment is good or not.
The solution to Attachment:
The solution to attachment can be simply put in words, although mightbe hard to implement. It is acceptance. Simply accepting that putting anymore time, energy and reources into that goal is a Sunk Cost.
As easy as it seems to just say it, it’s not that easy it. The more attached you are to something the harder it is to leave it behind. I shall explain it with examples.
For example, a person who has been in the same job for 10 years and has a strong sense of loyalty to the company may find it extremely difficult to leave it for a new opportunity.
For example, it can be difficult to leave behind a job that you have been at for years, even if the pay and benefits are not as good as a new job.
For instance, if you’re in a relationship for a long time, it can be very hard to end it, even if you know that it is no longer healthy or beneficial to you.
Conclusion:
The sense of attachment towards a goal creeps up on you. When faced with a hindrance in your path towards your goal which is risky and possibly deadly, it is better to leave the goal behind maybe for another day. The attachment towards your goal will make it hard for you to leave it behind, the simple solution is to accept it as a sunk cost and leave it behind.