Achieving our goals requires sustained and productive action in a particular direction. Therefore our work needs to be both consistent and purposeful. If we depend on external views and perspectives to guide our actions then we will never really act in a unified way. Instead, our actions will be scattered without any organizing idea or intention and our resources will be dissipated without any return on investment.
It is far more satisfying to first define a worthy objective and then to devote as much of our resources as possible in the service of that objective. If we are going to do this, we must first make sure that our objective is sufficiently worthy and, above all else, not harmful. It would be a shame if we devoted considerable resources towards an objective that ultimately increased suffering in the world rather than relieving it. Also disappointing would be hard work for something frivolous. So, if we don’t really know what we want to work for, our first task is to find out.
Insight meditation has the quality of permitting all of us to look inside and see what we really want out of life. If we can strengthen our understanding of what we are trying to achieve then, when the external winds blow through, they won’t be able to knock us off course. We will have a solid footing and confidence on the path we have carefully set for ourselves.