A Dangerous Parasite
There is an underestimated yet amazingly dangerous parasite around. Here in Germany, we call it “Innerer Schweinehund” [ˈɪnərrɐ ˈʃvaɪ̯nhʊnt]. People all over the world are infected, some of them know it, but most of them do not. Once infected, it is hard to get rid of it.
The Innerer Schweinehund is especially harmful when diagnosed too late. In the worst case, you only recognize it on your deathbed.
The good news is, there is a cure.
Symptoms
The Innerer Schweinehund attacks and slowly swallows an important part of you – your lifetime. That does not necessarily mean it is lethal. You can grow quite old with it. After all, it is causing an unfulfilled life – a life with lots of regrets – regrets about the dreams you once had but you did not have the courage to follow. Think about the book you have not written, the company you have not founded, or the family you have not started.
The Innerer Schweinehund forces you to do things that are comfortable or seemingly urgent right now. At the same time, it prevents you from doing the things that are truly important and have a real positive impact on your life.
What Is The Innerer Schweinehund?
The one-to-one translation of Innerer Schweinehund is Inner Pig Dog. There is no real good English translation, but it means something like inner couch potato, inner demon or just your comfort zone.
Do Not Waste Your Lifetime
Do not waste your life. Chances are, there is only one.
Let us say you have a tape measure of 80 inches. This approximately represents your average lifetime, in years. Now, take a scissors and cut the tape measure at your current age. The remaining part represents the average lifetime you still have left on this beautiful planet – the time you can still use to follow your dreams and to achieve your goals.
The Treatment
The treatment is easy. Become clear about what really matters to you in your life, pursue your dreams and set goals. Easy? How? Well, there is a lot of goal setting advice around. Goal setting is essential, but at the end is a tool. As hammer and chisels can help you to turn a stone into a beautiful statue, goal setting can help you to design your life how you want it to be. If you do not know how to use the tools and if you have no vision, no plan, the statue will remains imprisoned in the stone – or, your life will remain as it is.
Goal setting is like learning a language. It requires time and effort but most of all it requires practice. Therefore, we will leave this as a homework. Oh, wait, before you think about not doing your homework, let us focus on one seemingly little thing.
The Consequences
What are the consequences if you do not set and pursue your goals, especially your long-term or even life goals? Well, in the short-term, there are no consequences at all. Most likely, life will be even more comfortable for you right now when you do not need to tackle your biggest goals. This does not make things easier.
The long-term consequences might be dramatic. Each year you will cut off another inch of your tape measure until no more inches, no more years, are left. One day, you will say to yourself, I wish I had…
It is your choice. Your choice to stay in your comfort zone is in fact your decision to live an unfulfilled life with lots of regrets later.
Talk to Your Innerer Schweinehund
Make a commitment now. Tame your Innerer Schweinehund and make it your ally. Reserve one hour per week to work on your goals. Reflect on what is important and see if you are still on the right track. And, if you have made some progress, it is fine (even helpful) just to take your Innerer Schweinehund and do something nice together – as a reward.
For all your decisions, keep the consequences for your life goals in mind – and – have no regrets on your deathbed. The prognosis is good – if you start now.
About Us
VidaGoals.com is a passion project of Kay and Ron from Berlin, Germany. Too many people take their best ideas with them to the grave. Just some little tweaks can help you to find and achieve your goals and to live a fulfilled life. Find the free goal-setting app, inspiration and tools at https://vidagoals.com.
