Focus on the outcomes leads to frustration. Goals are a sense of direction. And Yogis knew this.

I’ve been Always amazed how much yogis knew about modern science and psychology without any acces to any methodological approach to it. Yet science keeps confirming what the ancients sages already new from inner inquiry.

And yes goals are overated.

In yoga, two essential pillars are practice and renunciation. Practice gives us the daily rhythm that shapes who we become; renunciation reminds us not to cling to the fruits of our labor. Together, they create a path that is less about chasing an end point and more about living in alignment every day.

Modern psychology echoes this wisdom. James Clear, in Atomic Habits, explains why being overly goal-oriented can hold us back. Goals point the way, but it is systems — the daily practices — that carry us forward.

The Problems of Being Goal-Oriented

1. Winners and losers have the same goals

   
   

   The goal itself doesn’t make the difference. Olympians all want the gold medal — but what separates the champion from the rest is not the goal, it’s the method, the system, and the discipline.

2. Achieving a goal is only a momentary change

   
   

   Reaching a goal is like cleaning a messy room once: satisfying in the moment, but short-lived if the underlying habit isn’t there. The deeper practice is building tidy habits — finding contentment in the process of cleaning itself and the discipline to do it even when you’re tired.

   
   

   A goal only changes your life for the moment. That’s the counterintuitive thing about improvement: we think we need to change our results, but the results are not the problem. What we really need to change are the systems that cause those results. When you solve problems at the results level, you only solve them temporarily. To improve for good, you must solve them at the systems level. Fix the inputs, and the outputs will fix themselves.

3. Goals restrict your happiness

   
   

   The implicit assumption behind any goal is: “Once I reach my goal, then I’ll be happy.” Working this way postpones happiness until the next milestone. It narrows your happiness to one condition, creating an either/or conflict: either you succeed and feel validated, or you fail and feel like a disappointment.

   
   

   Instead of narrowing yourself to one possibility, yoga invites you to surrender to the infinite paths that divinity may open before you. When you fall in love with the process — when the practice itself becomes the goal — yoga happens.

4. Goals are at odds with long-term effects

   
   

   Goals often push for quick results — a crash workout before your wedding, or cosmetic fixes like botox. These give immediate results but often harm in the long run. Sustainable change comes from small, consistent shifts that you begin to love over time.

   
   

   The purpose of setting goals is to achieve them. The purpose of yoga is to give you a system for transformation without clinging to the results. This is practice and renunciation in action.

Practice and Renunciation in Yoga

In yoga, practice (abhyāsa) means all efforts directed toward self-realization — every breath, posture, and act of awareness geared toward union with the soul. Practice is the discipline of transformation, the steady movement from the surface toward the Self.

Renunciation (vairāgya) means detachment — not abandoning life, but releasing attachment to worldly desires and the fruits of labor. This path is slow, often painful, and progress may feel insignificant. The frustration tempts many to quit before the breakthrough, but renunciation is what carries us through.

Together, practice and renunciation form the system for transformation: the discipline to act, and the courage to let go.

With Purpose ✨

Yoga happens when the process becomes the goal itself.

Practice: If abhyāsa is the steady discipline of moving toward the soul, then the way we walk that path is through three pillars:

• Svādhyāya (self-study): knowing where you are, who you are, and who you are becoming. This includes questioning and transforming your belief systems so they align with the Self you want to realize.

• Tapas (burning zeal): the inner fire to keep moving through the pain of not yet achieving, embracing discipline even in discomfort.

• Īśvara Praṇidhāna (devotion to God): surrendering to something higher, walking with love for the process while keeping the ultimate destination in mind.

Renunciation: The release of instant gratification, the courage to keep transforming whether results appear or not. To move steadily through frustration, pain, and the slow work of breaking old habits and building new ones.

True growth happens when we show up with knowledge, zeal, and devotion — and when we let go of the fruit of our labor. This is yoga: the patient discipline of practice, and the freedom of renunciation.

(Yoga Sutra II.1: tapas, svādhyāya, īśvara praṇidhāna kriyā-yogaḥ — practice is discipline, self-study, and devotion to God.)

Would you like me to now tighten this for your “Philosophy Tuesday” blog format (a little shorter intro + subtler section headers, so it reads more like an engaging article than a formal essay)?