Idea or ideals Valerie Pierce in her book Quick Thinking On Your Feet says that when thinking about our goals we sometimes confuse an ideal with an idea. conepts like hapiness, wealth, and freedom from stress are ideals, not ideas. an ideal is something we strive for: an idea is something we can put into action. we can all understand what ideals mean, but it is extremely hard- if not impossible- to define them because they differ from person tro person. one persons meaning of freedom from stress might be totally stress inducing for another. so, in defining your purpose you need to be sure you have a good idea and not a great ideal. you need a good idea that you can clearly define, and not just vaguely understand.for exampleif you want to be happy you must think of an idea that will give you happiness. striving for happiness will not bring happiness. she advocates using the "why" method we have mentioned earlier. keep asking why you want to achieve a certain goal until you get a clear sharp idea of what you want and why you want it and then you will be sasitisfied with the results.