A Goal and the Problem ©1998 NICOLEA
A goal is not a dream wish. If you say you have a goal but can’t describe the stages you have to go through to get it, then it’s a dream wish. But if you can describe the steps or the stages you have to go through to achieve it then it’s a goal. If the steps to reach the goal are well known to you and the way to secure each step is clear to you, then if you encounter any difficulty securing your goal you will know just where you are stuck and it is there that your problem shows itself.
We make goals for ourselves anytime we desire to do our best at anything. Driving a car perfectly, writing a report or a letter that expresses oneself most sincerely, doing some household chore most perfectly, or even when engaged in a talk - so long as one wants to express oneself most honestly and sincerely. But in this process, a goal must have stages one goes through, steps that require planning, reflection, and understanding to accomplish. If a goal has these characteristics, then we can see where a problem emerges. What is most interesting about a problem is that it can show itself in different ways in several of these stages!
May we preserve these philosophical beauties, and exhibit them to others. May this web site expand their elegance by the enlivening rays of the philosophic fire; and by the powerful breath of genius, scatter abroad in this virtual world these latent but copious seeds.
If some sparks of this celestial fire shall animate the reader, consider yourself as well rewarded for this laborious undertaking. Ancient philosophy has been, for centuries, the only study to break the shackles of ignorance; and in which one finds an inexhaustible treasure of intellectual wealth, and a perpetual fountain of wisdom and delight.
Presuming that such a pursuit bestows the highest benefit, I, Webmistress, desire no other reward than the wealth of wisdom, and Reason as my constant Guide. If successful, may I see the praise of the liberal; and if not, I expect no defense for failure, other than the decision of the candid, and discerning few, thus the opportunity to learn, and purgation by philosophic fire.