A friend was asking me for fitness and dating advice the other day. He wanted the fastest ways to improve (I told him to go vegan and talk to 25 strangers a day). It brought to mind conversations I’ve had with countless clients. Everyone seems to want fast gains with little effort. While it is possible to make great strides in a short time, it rarely happens without hard work. I’ve achieved results by practice. I am not a natural when it comes to fitness or talking to women. My abilities are the result of working harder than most people can imagine.

Mainstream media creates the idea that living a perfect life is one purchase away. Make a trip to your local mall and you are on your way to the cover of GQ magazine. The reality isn’t quite as sweet.  The universe isn’t interested in your instant gratification, and you can’t purchase the results of hard work. Want six pack abs? Good luck getting them by putting in half-assed workouts and munching on cheese curls.

I’m not trying to say that you shouldn’t have fun as you grow. The journey to a healthy life is a great adventure. I look at the challenges I face as an adventure. It feels good to show yourself that you can be pushed to limits that few will ever attempt.

For many people the title of this post sounds crazy. How can you live your life without goals? Wouldn’t it just be a lazy and meaningless existence? Not necessarily. It all depends on your outlook.

Westerners have been raised to believe that the purpose of life is productivity and results. We are taught to think that life is a destination and not a journey. There are some good reasons to consider eliminating goals.

Goals are attempts at controlling the uncontrollable. You don’t determine the future. You can only effect your own actions. An endless list of variables stands in the way of your goals. That doesn’t mean that you won’t achieve them, but it’s pretty silly to assume that you can know what you’ll be doing in 5 years. Can you even say what you will do tomorrow?

Positive Habits are far more beneficial than a list of goals. I’ve found that keeping positive habits has been an excellent way of accomplishing great things. Some of my fondest memories were the result of many factors, and were not a predetermined goal. Positive habits like exercise, networking, and learning will place you in a better position to succeed.

Goals set you up for disappointment. Back when I was a professional wrestler I set the goal of becoming WWE Champion. I didn’t even come close! I could have been sad and felt sorry for myself, but instead I was happy. Why? I was able to enjoy the process of becoming a respected pro wrestler, and I built a very healthy body. If I had tunnel vision and only focused on that one goal I would have felt like all of my effort was a waste.

I’m not saying that goals are evil. Maybe they have worked for you. Personally, I’m going to give them up for a while and see how life goes.  My guess is that I will still have a great life without the stress of a bucket list.