The mind is an information processing machine, that when deprived of a problem to solve, tends to consume itself. Obsessive and endless rumination is often a result of this lack of direction found in many people who suffer from depersonalization disorder and derealization.
Having written goals that shift your focus from internal to external concerns helps alleviate this burden of self consciousness and also helps improve your life, enhancing your sense of agency.
There are two main types of goals: short term goals about what you are going to prioritize for tomorrow and this week, then there are long term goals, goals about achievements you want to accomplish 6 months or longer from now.
I recommend that you write down both sets of goals. The long term goals are the ones that require more work. You may not really know exactly what you want in the near to distant future.
One exercise you can do is to sit down for however long it takes with a notebook or word processor, and just write down everything that you might want, with no inner critic telling you it “isn’t possible” or that your dreams are “silly”.
Use that as a rough draft that you constantly work on. What are you passionate about? What are your strengths? What do you truly want? And this may be hard to figure out. You may feel like you need to live up to your parent’s or society’s expectations of you. It’s so important to truly figure out what you want for yourself in life and work on refining that and pursuing it with full determination.
The short term goals are the easiest to write down. And I do think writing them down is important. Physically writing down your goals will help you orient your focus away from yourself to something external. An external focus is absolutely critical for alleviating self focus and obsessional rumination.
Living a life of your making really starts with great goals.
The most important thing is to take action. You’ve got to prioritize the most actionable and important goal. Take action to achieve that goal as soon as you can.
This will help start gaining momentum in your life.
In depersonalization we often feel like we have lost momentum, that we are just floating around in space.
Great goals will dramatically improve your sense of agency, self, purpose and orient your mind to living a fulfilling life of your creation that comes from the core of who you are.
