Goals and experiences

Ever since I learned about cursed problems I’ve been thinking about the difference between goals and experiences. According to ChatGPT:

• Goal: A goal is a specific, often measurable, outcome or achievement that a person or group aims to accomplish. It’s a defined endpoint or target. Goals are typically future-oriented and can be short-term or long-term.
• Experience: An experience is the process of living through an event or series of events. It’s about the journey rather than the destination. Experiences are more about the qualitative aspects — the feelings, perceptions, and interactions that occur during an activity.

Both are useful counterweights.

• Focus on the goal and the experience suffers.
• Focus on an experience and you subvert a goal.

Experiences, one after the other, are what determine my outcomes. If I set a goal where the required experiences are beyond what I’m willing to do, I’ll never hit that goal. And I’ll constantly subvert my goals with lavish or hedonistic experiences if I don’t stop to think of my goals.

So, I think that’s the depth of my insight so far. Goals and experiences should always be tied together.