Stine: Small, silly, specific, highly personal goals are needed in this life
Mar 26, 2024, 7:20 AM
Students of a sanskrit gurukul school, which teach yoga as part of its curriculum, perform yoga on the banks on the banks of the Ganges River to mark International Yoga Day, on June 21, 2023, in Varanasi, India. (Photo: Ritesh Shukla, Getty Images)
(Photo: Ritesh Shukla, Getty Images)
I have a thought about happiness and how to earn it, but I’m going to have to go way out on a limb and circle back around for it to make sense.
I realize that what I am about to say will sound like the beginning of a very boring phone call with your mom, but bear with me.
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About two weeks ago I switched to a “low carb diet” – I didn’t do so for weight reasons, or for health reasons. I did it because I wanted to do a specific yoga position which requires an intense amount of focus and ability, lest I pop my kneecap out of its socket and lose my ability to walk. It’s called a “lifted dancer” which sounds more pleasant than it feels. Think of a ballerina standing on her toes while trying to scratch the back of her head with her other foot. Simply put, it’s basically the best way to end up in a cast for six months.
I’ve been trying to do it for months and, after having no luck, I came across a yogi forum that said “cut out a lot of starchy carbs.” So I followed that advice in order to do a random yoga pose that no one would ever see besides me — and maybe the people who can see the inside of my apartment from the parking lot across the street.
What’s my point? Why deny myself delicious carbs for weeks? Why practice walking on my toes for hours in a desperate and obsessed manner so that I might be able to one day touch the back of my head with my foot while standing on my toes? Because human beings need goals. Small, silly, specific, highly personal goals that are only for their own enjoyment.
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We talk so much about mental health and wellness, but rarely are we given outlines for how to manifest that wellness. My tip? Set a simple, silly, specific, highly personal goal and become quietly obsessed with it. I can’t tell you what the outcome will be, but I can tell you the pursuit of that goal will be more rewarding than any bowl of pasta or any sushi binge. The secret to happiness is this equation: A small goal that promotes a deep obsession.
As someone who just touched the back of his head with his toes, it is highly worth it.
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