没有目标就是好目标 Having No Goals Is Actually a Good Goal

There is an English idiom - "No news is good news". In situations of anxious waiting or uncertainty, one always worries about bad things happening. But if everything remains the same, such as silence, it means everything is normal. When you go for a medical check-up and don't receive a follow-up call from the hospital after the examination, or when you complete a project at work and submit it to your supervisor but they don't contact you afterwards, it means the project has been successfully completed. Without any news, isn't this good news? Chinese and Western cultures are the same. In Chinese culture, non-action means action. That's roughly what it means.

For a certain matter, the more you pay attention to and focus on it, the less likely you will get any result. On the contrary, the more you don't care about it, the more unexpected results you may eventually get. As the saying goes, "If you plant flowers with intention, they won't bloom; if you casually plant a willow, it will grow into a tree." This is the relationship between action and non-action.

A person who works hard to write, who sets the goal of becoming a poet or writer from the very beginning, who buys a poetry collection and famous works, who studies every day, and who never forgets his goal and grand ideals, often ends up with the opposite result. Such a person often cannot become a writer or poet. Because from the very beginning, his heart is bound by "the goal" and filled up, and he cannot exert all his efforts in the specific practice to acquire the basic qualities necessary to become a writer or poet.

If a leader always thinks about how to achieve some achievements to get promoted and rich in the future, then such a person will never become a good leader. Serving the people wholeheartedly and thinking about the people's welfare all the time, such a leader will not think about the word "achievements", he only knows to be a public servant for the people and to seek happiness for the people. He will not think about achieving any achievements. Would leaders like Jiao Yulu and Kong Fansen, who are dedicated to the people and selfless, think about the word "achievements"?

Concentration without distraction, being fully dedicated, is the highest state of life.

There is a common saying in China: Without a sword in one’s hand, if one has a sword in the heart, he is able enough to kill. This is the relationship between presence and absence. At a certain level, having is not-having, and not-having is having. Returning to the beginning of this article, no news is good news, having a goal means no goal.

英语里有句成语——“没有消息就是好消息”，在焦急等待或者不确定的情景中，总会担心不好的事情发生，而如果一切保持着原来的状态，比如沉默，就意味着一切正常。你去医院体检，体检完毕以后没有接到医院的复查电话；你在公司里完成了一个项目，然后提交给了领导，事后领导没有再找你，也就意味着项目顺利完成了。没有任何的消息，这不就是好消息吗？

中西文化是相同的，中国文化里的无为便是有为，大概就是这个意思了。

一件事情，你若越关注、越用心，往往越没有任何的结果；反倒是你越不放在心上，最终可能有意想不到的结果。正所谓，有心栽花花不开，无心插柳柳成荫。这也是有为、无为的关系。

一个人努力写作，一开始便立志要成为诗人、作家，买来了诗集、名作，天天攻读，时刻不忘自己的目标和宏大理想，可最终结果往往适得其反，这样的人往往也成不了作家或者诗人。因为从一开始，他的内心便被 “目标”这种东西束缚住了，填充满了，不可能在具体实践上竭尽全力，去获取成为作家或者诗人应具有的基本素养。

一个领导干部，如果满脑子里想着如何干出点政绩来，日后好升官发财，那么这样的人永远不会成为一个好的领导。全心全意为人民服务，一心一意为人民谋福利，这样的领导干部不会想到“政绩”二字，他只知道做人民的公仆，为人民谋幸福，不会想着做出什么政绩。焦裕禄、孔繁森式的领导干部，一心为民，公而无私，他们会想到政绩二字吗？

心无旁骛，专心致志，才是人生的最高境界。

中国有句俗话，手中无剑，心中有剑，便可足以杀人。这就是有和无的关系，在一定的层面，有便是无，无便是有。回到本文开首，没有消息就是有好消息，有目标便是没有目标。