Are your Goals like Helium Balloons?

Ever had a balloon slip your grasp and run away into the sky? Have you ever witness the myriad of emotions that a child goes through when they lose a balloon the to wind?

Our goals and dreams are sometimes like a Helium Balloon and sometimes we have the same myriad of reactions to those balloons as a child does.

Think back...way back for some of you, to those days when playing with a balloon was the "Greatest" thing on earth. I for one still love playing with them, trying to keep them in the air as long as I can by bouncing them on my nose, elbow, 1 foot etc etc. I love the challenge. As a kid I went through my share of balloons whether they be filled with water, plain breath from my lungs or the "Special Treat", helium. Helium was great cause not only did it add a new sense of "Risk" to the play it also added amazing comedic effect when you sucked on the gas and made those silly voices we all know and love so well. Helium in a balloon was the pinnacle of "Balloon Play".

I can remember upping the ante with the helium balloons when trying for the "max" touches game. When played indoors the risk was an added element. If the balloon got too high above you it stuck on the roof - no problem, just grab a ladder or stand on a table and viola, game on, but the "perceived risk" was still high. It was when you went outside that the "real risk" happened. If you lost contact with the balloon it was game over. You sat and watched the balloon rise, rise, rise and eventually drift out of sight. What now? How do I have fun and entertain myself? What are my friends and I going to do to now?

I sometimes think of my goals as balloons. Some are filled with water, some are just "Hot Air" and others are full of Helium.

Water Balloons - Goals that have impact; can be messy if not handled right; Are heavy and unwieldy.
Hot Air Balloons - Blurted out goals of little importance; Fly by night goals that really don't have a ton of planning or thought behind them; Disposable goals that are situational
Helium Balloons - Important Goals, Risky goals, personally meaningful goals, Goals that can expire if you don't take action and make them happen quickly

Take a couple minutes and just look at some of the projects or goals that you currently have and identify if some of them are Helium filled. If they are, it sometimes pays to "tie a string on them" to keep them from floating away.