A link from Emergic pointed me to an insightful post on “Conversations with Dina” about the two types of Life-orientations people have:

The late self-help expert, Earl Nightingale, once explained that there are two types of people: river people and goal people. Both types of people can experience personal fulfillment and success in life, although in different ways.

Goal People

Most of us are undoubtedly familiar with goal people. They are the individuals who write down their objectives and  timetables for reaching them, and then focus on attaining them, one by one.  By laying out a roadmap of future achievements in front of them, goal people give their creative minds a clear set of stimuli to work on. Their subconscious minds can then get to work incubating ideas and insights that will help them to reach their goals.

River People

River people, on the other hand, don’t like to follow such a structured route to success. They are called river people because they are happiest and most fulfilled when they are wading in a rich “river” of interest — a subject or profession about which they are very passionate. While they may not have a concrete plan with measurable goals, river people are often successful because they are so passionate about their area of interest.

River people are explorers, continually seeking out learning opportunities and new experiences. For river people, joy comes from the journey, not from reaching the destination — exactly the opposite of goal people.

Most people are a combination of these two personality types… The important point is to recognize and nurture both aspects of your personality.

I know my predominant personality type is River, though I easily switch to Goal orientation for the immediate, tactical, short-term stuff at work. 

Some of you may have experienced the presence of both these types, in different ways, and at different times in your lives…  Others may have struggled with the presence of two distinctly different traits, trying to come to terms with both at the same time… Gives you some thing to think about it, doesn’t it?