Let’s try to conduct a strength test together. Who? Not who, but what — our goals. Because the main goal for many people, and the most coveted goal for most, is money. However, this goal is not only banal but also utopian from the outset. Why? Because the focus should be on your personal skills and desires, and the material aspect will follow sooner or later once you begin doing what you truly love. Accordingly, the emphasis should be not on the amount of income, but on its source.

So, let’s take one or two of the main goals we have set and examine them through the lens of the following questions: Why did I set this particular goal for myself? What principles in my life does it reflect? Once we have answered these questions, we can move on to the next ones: What will happen when my goal is achieved? How will those around me behave? How will I behave? How will I feel? After answering these questions, be sure to listen to yourself — do these thoughts feel pleasant, or do the images they create make you uncomfortable? If the feelings are positive, the next question to ask yourself is: What will help me move toward this goal, and what might distract me from it?

Finally, it is worth considering how achieving your goal will affect both your loved ones and other important areas of your life. A small but useful piece of advice: try writing all your thoughts down on paper, and be as honest as possible in the process. If you start deceiving yourself, even when you are alone, the entire point of the exercise will disappear. After all, with whom, if not with yourself — your closest and most cherished person — should you be completely sincere and honest?

And if, after all these heartfelt reflections, your goal remains just as desirable as before — or perhaps has become even more appealing — then you can be sure that this intention is truly yours, and not something imposed from the outside.