The Goals not Achieved

I thought the goals that for myself I had set

Were actually quite achievable, quite modest

I had tried hard not to overestimate

My abilities, never to overstate

My goals, my dreams and aspirations

I had thought that my estimation

Would be fairly accurate, being grounded in reality

But it was not how things would turn out to be

*

I struggled to understand the reasons behind

The inability to achieve the reasonable goals I had in mind

I berated myself and tried to pin the blame

On my circumstances, I came up with excuses lame

I clung tenaciously to the idea that I had to achieve

The goals I had set, I had come to believe

That my identity was to my goals tied

I thought that harder I needed to have tried…

*

The understanding came to me gradually

Perhaps the goals I had set were never meant for me

I was meant to chart a path different from what I had visualized

To hold on to old ideas was counterproductive, I realized

*

I still think wistfully about the goals I had intended to achieve

But no longer essential to my identity those goals I perceive

Life changes, and one has to adapt in turn

This is the lesson I’ve finally been able to learn