Goals

Do any of you set goals for yourself? If so do you write them down and share them with people? There is a school of thought that when you write down/share your goals you commit to them more. I have written down my goals and I must admit as soon as I wrote them down they felt achievable.
The mind lodges all kinds of thoughts, some positive, some negative, some clear and some unclear.
If I leave my thoughts to cycle around in my head it is hard to know exactly what I really do want/desire.
Children don't seem to have this problem. They can usually clearly state what they want from life and they don't seem to have any doubt that they can achieve their goals. As we get older we listen to the opinions of others and their view of us influences our own beliefs consciously or subconsciously. Given time it is hard to know where your belief ends and another's begins.
We are like sponges absorbing all information and feedback people give us even if the feedback may not be accurate or helpful.
In the end I believe it is helpful to stop listening to any and all advice and decide for ourselves what makes us happy and what we would like to achieve in life.
In their natural state humans are generous, optimistic and happy and at times in my life when I haven't felt that way I have realised the need to make positive changes in order to achieve harmony and happiness in my life.