Goals and Failed Purposes
Often you will find that an Ethics situation came about due to a decision to stop things resulting in inaction and decay. A person stresses what shouldn't be done or be avoided at all costs. This adds up to a stopped or blocked flow of some kind. Behind this is a failed purpose. The person decided to do something and went ahead. Then he got hurt in the process and decided never to do it again. He got fixated on a negative, the 'never again', the stop.

The study of purposes is a fascinating subject. Purposes are factually the fuel on which life runs. Any action, be it small or large, is preceded by a decision, which is translated into a purpose or goal and then carried out. It is very powerful stuff. The proverb "there is nothing you can't accomplish if your put your mind to it" is speaking the truth. It speaks to the power of purposes, intention and setting up goals.

Examples: 1. You feel hungry, decide to eat and then formulate the purpose to go to a certain restaurant and order turkey.
2. You witness an epidemic and decide there is too much suffering in the world. You decide to become a medical doctor and your whole life is governed by this large purpose and goal to eliminate illness, suffering and pain.
3. Sports coaches know how to motivate their players by having them focus on a positive result and not even consider the possibility of failure. The edge one pro team has over another is usually very slim. The winning team often simply has a better morale. It may all come down to the coach who knows how to motivate his players effectively; to make the players operate on positive purposes and postulates and not even consider failure.
4. A small population on the East Coast of North America decided they had had enough of tyranny from the British Crown. They formed a new nation and formulated lofty goals of freedom, equality and brotherhood. They wrote it into declarations and laws and eventually a constitution. The carefully crafted constitution worked and the world was never the same again.

The failed purpose is equally powerful in a negative way. It results is a large range of phenomena, from trivial daily life annoyances to disasters and wars.

Examples: 1. Tiredness, not simply caused by lack of sleep, is caused by a failed or blunted purpose. You probably know the frustrations of trying to do something but, for various reasons, not succeed. A natural reaction is to roll over and say, "I give up!" That adds up to tiredness. Down the line the person may long have forgotten the frustrations that led to that. She just feels so tired today.
2. A business starts out on the idea to design a better software program. At some point the leadership realizes it takes a lot more than they thought. Also, the competition is tough and the "better software program" becomes the favorite subject to make jokes about in the company. The morale of the firm sinks to an all-time low. The company looses perspective and motivation and is ready for bankruptcy.
3. An ambitious young man supports the political system of capitalism but fails to make it as a businessman. He now grows a long bird, becomes a socialist and raves and rants against capitalism. He wants to stop and destroy capitalism.
3. Terrorists are often seen to operate on a failed purpose. Their cause failed in a big way by usual means. They wanted to form a nation, save the world or convert everybody to their faith and failed utterly. Now they have to destroy any opposition and everything else in sight and even commit suicide as a result. They can only think in destruction and stops as 'a way for change'.

R. Hubbard put it this way:

"Stops all occur because of failed purposes.
Behind every stop there is a failed purpose.

"A stuck picture (in the mind) or a motionless organization are similar. Each has behind it a failed purpose.

"There is a law about this: All you have to do to restore life and action is to rekindle the failed purpose. The stops will at once blow.

"That law is so powerful it would practically revive the dead!"

This datum can be used as a tool in Ethics handlings. Especially the Condition of Emergency and the Condition of Doubt talks about goals and purposes. Have the client realize and state what the original purpose or goal of his job or activity was and rehabilitate his original enthusiasm and you will have a powerhouse of a client racing up the Conditions.

In formulating his original goal or goals, make sure it is a positive statement of the subject. It is much like what the best of sports coaches do. You have the person see the purpose as an accomplished fact. Have him postulate it as existing in reality in perfect condition and do not have him dwell on any negative aspects nor the 'stops'. Let him talk about his concerns and doubts by all means but never leave him there. Once he has formulated  the goal as a positive and accomplished fact in his mind you can work out a detailed plan on how to get there, using the Conditions Formulas as your basic structure or model (there is another tool in the Appendix - the so-called Admin Scale. But here it is more an administrative tool).