Some people believe that to live a proper life, one should set a huge, possibly even unachievable goal for them to strive towards. They then constantly set smaller goals along the way to their ultimate destination. This provides them with an endless motivation to better themselves as they work towards what they desire.
Is this the correct or even a good way to live life though? I don't think so.
While some people may live their lives this way and give themselves to their pursuit until the day they die, I believe that living towards an end result drains out a lot of what makes life valuable.
People who live like this often miss out on the day to day. They miss valuable moments with those who really matter to them because they're always looking ahead into the future, looking for the next way to advance their agenda. Some folk I've spoken to in their 60s and 70s said this was their greatest regret. They may have even found success, but lost time with all those around them because of it. "Stepping towards curing x disease or inventing y design to improve the world is surely more important than spending time on these fleeting relationships" sounds logical but is a deeply flawed way of thinking. Sure, you might bring great benefit to the world, but it's a personally devastating way of life not meant for 99% of people.
And what about the unlikely scenario where one does in fact finish the herculean task they set out to do? What then? Do they just stop everything because they are done? No! That would mean that their life has lost all meaning because the only thing giving it meaning is now gone. They either lose themselves to despair or set themselves on a new, higher task. Living like this will not bring satisfaction, only exhaustion. They will finish one thing and then instantly become worried about how they are to go about accomplishing the next. If you believe you may be one of these types of people, I advise you to look around you and find little ways to live in the moment more and enjoy the journey of life as it comes.