JOSE AND LEFIA STEVETIS^133items as "I will clean the top of my desk off each night before
I go home," or "I will eat only salad for lunch for two weeks
in order to lose weight," or even "I will earn x dollars this
year." Where is the fun, the excitement, the emotion?
Shamanically speaking, if your heart or your true desire is
not involved in your goal, your success will be greatly dimin-
ished. For goals to be achievable, they must be realistic; and
second, they must be something you really want to accom-
plish. For example, are you clearing your desk of papers
every night so that the boss will pat you on the back (you
know he or she hates messy desks) or because you feel a
great sense of satisfaction and well-being when you see your
desk clean at the beginning of a workday? If your cleaning
attempt is to please your boss, your goal is ultimately
doomed to failure. Perhaps you should focus on building a
better relationship with your boss and how good that would
feel. Maybe that goal would lead you to a different task alto-
gether, like taking her or him to lunch at your favorite res-
taurant. That would be fun for you too. On the other hand, if
cleaning your desk is for self-satisfaction, you are more likely
to succeed only if you focus on the desired result. When you
are setting that goal, you need to focus on how great you will
feel the next day, not on the menial task itself.
It may be that your goal is actually a stepping-stone or a
baby step toward a much larger wish. If so, the larger picture
or wish is what you must keep in mind when you are setting
that goal. For example, you want to increase your income for
the purpose of buying a new house that will provide a better
environment for you and thus support your well-being. It is
the house and that feeling of well-being that should be envi-
sioned in your process. Since money itself is just the means
and not the actual motivator, it is the feelings themselves that
fuel the desire and thus help produce the goal.
Detachment
An aspect of goal setting important to its success is the
concept of detachment or surrender. If you are emotionally
too attached to your goal, it is likely that you will never
achieve it. Have you ever noticed that the people who are
really desperate for a relationship seldom find a satisfactory
one? In our experience, it is always the people whose atten-
tion is elsewhere at the time who find the person they are
looking for. Focusing your attention strongly and unceasingly
toward your goal will, shamanically speaking, keep it earth-
bound or root-bound. Shamans know that birds cannot fly