Big Goals!

2023 is here and we are once again thinking about our year and what we want to achieve. Should you reach for the sky when thinking of goals? What if you set them well above what you see as possible?

“I will show that instead of limiting themselves to what's probable, the best will pursue the heart-pounding, exciting, really big, difference-making dreams - so long as catching them might be possible" - Dr. John Eliot

My thoughts around goal setting has changed over the years, and I always used the SMART acronym for all my goal setting. If you are unsure or have never heard of this, all goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.

Did I achieve all my goals? Absolutely not, so I keep making them easier and easier each time. I tried to increase the odds of reaching the outcome and finally get that pen and, in one movement, cross it off my list almost like I had climbed Everest with practically as much celebration of achieving such great heights.

At one point in my life used to be in pretty good shape physically, for whatever reason, I lost that and got a little well, that is not right, got a out of shape and put on more weight than I wanted. I know that I love being in good condition and see that it does a lot to increase my self-esteem and energy, so being in this place was not only not good for my health but also my self-esteem.

Every year I would write out the same goal, and when I didn't achieve the outcome, I would reduce it and reduce it. I would tell myself that as you get older, you cannot have the same dreams, things are more complex, and you have other things to worry about, but let's be REALISTIC, and let's make it ACHIEVABLE. We need to cross this goal off our list, you know, grab that pen and scratch it out, almost like you are celebrating climbing Everest.

I used to know someone who would write out goals he had already achieved so he could grab that pen and tell himself that he had accomplished something. The mighty power of the pen, but that's another topic.

Anyway, my goal after about five years got so small that it was ridiculous. To top it all off, I still didn't achieve this pared-down version of what I really wanted.

Does this sound like you?

I have spent a lot of time exploring goals and trying to determine why they no longer work for me, and I then realised that they didn't inspire me. How do you accept a pared-down version when you dream of this amazing body with lots of energy and good health? How does that vision make you get out of bed, get out of your head and get things happening?

I remember reading a book by Steven Levy, "In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives" did you know that 40% of Google's goals/ideas are so far out of left field that it takes a lot of imagination even to get a picture of how they could even be possible. Half of these fail!

Why does Google have such unrealistic goals? Let us imagine! Maybe we don't have to imagine. We need to open our computer or smartphone and be more than 30 years old to see what fantastic technology we now have at our fingertips.

What does that mean for you and me?

Could you imagine having these crazy ideas that are so far from realistic or achievable that the SMART concept does not fit?

Let's go back to my health, fitness and body goals. What would inspire me, even if I think it is crazy or I have no idea how to achieve it (that doesn't matter at this point in the process). If I were dreaming, I would love to have a six-pack and so much energy by my next birthday that I can do anything, and have my doctor amazed when she checks out my blood work.

Is this specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound? Mostly yes. The six-pack might not be realistic (apparently, some surgery after a couple of kids might be necessary). In saying that does it inspire me? 100% yes.

What if I set the goal knowing that it was a little on the unrealistic side and with no real plan for how I achieve it but continually think about it, research, take various action steps, change things, and do different exercises, all in the hope that maybe there is another way other than surgery that I can achieve this?

What if I didn't achieve it but came close? Is that better than the pared-down versions I told myself I needed but wasn't inspired to achieve previously? I know my answer, what about you?