What Do You Do With Your Big Goals When the World Is Falling Apart?

In uncertain times, what you want to achieve still matters

Photo: MoMo Productions/Getty Images

The world is in an uncertain moment right now. Suddenly, your personal goals, the things you were so passionate about just a couple weeks ago, might feel less than important. Who cares about all the training you’ve done for your first marathon if you’re not sure you’ll have a job in a few weeks? How can you think about that art exhibit you’ve planning when the news is full of people getting sick? Are you really trying to launch that podcast about houseplants when others around you are confronting economic devastation, xenophobia, and mental health issues?

It’s easy to think, “Well, the sky is falling,” and shove those dreams into a box in the closet. But that would be a mistake. Even if you have to focus on other issues that are more pressing or essential to your immediate well-being, your big goals still matter. It’s not selfish or foolish to keep striving toward them — in fact, they may get you through these rough times and open up opportunities for you to help others. Here’s how you can maintain at least some momentum on your goals during chaotic times.

Forget about crushing your goal — just touch your goal every day

If you hit pause during times of uncertainty, you run the risk of either 1) never returning to the goal again, or 2) losing so much momentum that when you come back to the goal, you have to start from scratch.

For instance, let’s say you wanted to write a novel, but with everything else that’s happening right now, you’re overwhelmed by your usual writing routine. If you don’t look at your novel for several weeks or months, when you do come back, you’ll have to get to know your characters and find your pace again. You’ll no longer live inside your story and will have to do the work of moving back in.

Even when things are stressful and confusing, if you maintain a baseline habit of doing at least a little bit of work toward your goal — my go-to is 10 minutes a day — you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the progress you make. And when the time is right to fully reimmerse yourself in your goal, it will be so much easier to do so.