Discover your own yellow brick road

Many people think of Frank Baum's classic story of The Wizard of Oz and recall the yellow brick road.  This was the golden path Dorothy chose to follow to get where she wanted to go.  The goal she talked about most was her desire to find the great wizard and ask him to send her home to her beloved Kansas. Yet, along that journey, she realized that she had other goals and she took detours to realize those in her own time.

The obstacles Dorothy encountered along the way teach us that none of us really does what we don't want to do.  She teaches us that even battling forces of evil we create in our minds, like witches and fierce creatures, this is alll done because of desired outcomes we hope our effort will produce.  Have you ever pretended you had no options as a way to persuade yourself to do things that made you feel awkward, scared or uncomfortable? Do you sense such goal-setting causes you to feel bad about your choices?

Now, your goal may not be to get to Kansas. You may not be on a religious quest for redemption a Buddhist quest for enlightenment, or another spiritual pilgrimage. The aim of your goals doesn't matter as much as taking the time to identify what they are and why you have them. We can learn many things about goal-setting from Dorothy too. Do you dream about what life may offer you beyond the bounds of your own life experience? Do you imagine what may be "over the rainbow?" Consider how you and people you know successfully negotiate different life journeys.

1) A perceived crisis triggers a need for goals. The death of the Wicked Witch of the East symbolizes the end of Dorothy's dependence on others and her choice to go off on her own. The times comes when you recognize what you've been doing no longer works for who you are. This realization is impetus for sitting down to decide on a new path. Where will you go and why?

2) We must face challenges. Like Dorothy, who learns to confront her own demons ("lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"), you must do what is necessary to recognize how you create fear, and for which reasons. Only then will you grasp what prevents you from achieving goals. You can be your own worst enemy, but gaining insight teaches the power to face new challenges is available.

3)Our self-discovery will inspire others. The Good Witch of the North provides Dorothy with periodic guidance, much like we might call out to our own guardian angels. Yet, this Good Witch allows Dorothy to make her own discoveries. The answers to her key questions are not provided. Dorothy then inspires self-discoveries by the Lion (who realizes he's the source of his own courage), of the tin man, (who realizes his inner goodness constitutes a heart), and the scarecrow (who decides he has more intelligence than he thought without a traditional brain).

4)  Integrate parts of your soul. Dorothy takes a winding road as a means to reach an awakening, her "higher self-realization." The nature of your chosen quest and the goals you define will fulfill psychological needs regardless of what people think or whether you realize your original goals. The key is to become better acquainted with how you think, feel and desire. They can change.

5) Success is relative. Dorothy has a different sense of success while in her world of Oz than when she awakens back in her bed in Kansas. Where she desires to go, with whom, and when reveals she often dwells on where she isn't, on what she doesn't have, or what she isn't doing. Although each of us can be motivated to work toward creating or achieving, it's important to recognize the meaning and impact of goals that got you where you are. They mean something too.