There is a time that we sit down and decide what we want to do with our lives or this next part of our lives. In that moment, we make a decision, and we set goals. We set the ‘big’, ‘final’ goal which is the overall outcome, then we set some smaller goals which need to be met to reach that final one. Then we begin the process of meeting those goals.

The problem is that we want to be there now. (I want patience, and I want it now!) The problem with this is that all things take time. But what we miss is that the important part is not so much the achieving of our goals, but what we go through along the way.

You see, the goal is not important, at least not as anything more than an impetus to start us moving. What is important are the things we go through while making the effort. In a true journey, we learn things. In learning things, we change, but most importantly, we grow. It is the change that allows us to grow, and it is the growth that we need that allows us to achieve what we want, and be what we need to be.

When I decided I wanted to be a massage therapist, I set that as a goal. Along that path, I had to go through school, learn a lot of things, and pass the national boards. All these were goals along the way to the final goal, and I wanted that final goal to happen... now. It did not, of course. But I wanted it to.

But no matter what I wanted, and what I drove myself to do, it was what I went though along the way that really mattered. On this journey, I had to learn anatomy, physiology, pathology, and whatever-else-ology. I had to learn massage, and working with clients, and addressing specific needs. I had to learn to interact with people, and talk so I sounded intelligent. I had to grow. I had to grow as a therapist, as a healer, and (most importantly) as a person.

We all set goals, and we all want them to happen immediately. When we’re children we want to be old enough to stay up until 10:00. Then we want to be old enough to date, and to be able to be out late on our own. Then we want to be old enough to move out and have a place of our own. If these things happened immediately, we would miss our childhood along with most of our young adult life. Imagine what you would be like if you missed all of the experiences during those periods.

One of the things that I discovered when I completed my goal of becoming a massage therapist was that I wanted to do more. I wanted to do massage on lots of clients and be successful at it. I wanted to know many modalities. And that meant more goals, and more journeys. So, set goals, but don’t be so obsessed with the goal that you forget to pay attention to the journey to it. After all once you make that goal, there will be another goal, and another journey. The key is not the goal, but the journey to get there. Enjoy the trip.

Author's Bio: 

Brian is a Nationally Certified, Florida Licensed Massage Therapist, Reiki Master, and member of the Florida State Massage Therapy Association. He is a graduate of the Coastal School of Massage Therapy in Jacksonville, Florida. Brian first learned massage techniques several years ago in a trade of learning with a licensed massage therapist in Maryland. Working on friends and family, his skills grew.

After moving to Florida he learned Reiki and has been a Reiki Master since 1997. He attended a local massage school one night a week with permission of the school’s owner. His focus was to extend his knowledge and increase his skills. He again practiced on family, friends and neighbors, and more friends. This was all done at no charge, as he just wanted to help people. It gave him a wonderful feeling to know that he had helped someone.

Deciding that massage was something he wanted to do full time, Brian enrolled at the Coastal School of Massage Therapy in September of 2001. During the 700-hour course (Florida state requirement is 500 hours), he learned anatomy and physiology, massage therapy, and various types of massage. He had classes on Reflexology, Shiatsu, Polarity, Hydrotherapy, and Myofascial techniques. During school clinicals, he worked on 60 people in the school’s massage center. His techniques evolved to where he was combining things he had learned previously with things he had been taught in school. Brian graduated from school in May 2002, and passed the National Boards Exam for Massage Therapy in October 2002.

During the last few years, Brian has done many things from healing, teaching, and learning new things, like seeing problems in people, trusting the guidance that he gets when he is doing massage and energy work, and generally feeling out new energies. He has also been increasing his skills as a massage therapist, learning new styles and modalities of massage, and using many energy techniques to help him 'see' what needs the most work, and what movements would be most beneficial.

Brian currently draws on the knowledge of things he has learned and the experience that he has obtained, to become more in tune with what each body needs. His main goal is to help people feel and live better. He believes that whenever possible, we should strive to be positive, and live within the light.