Setting goals? Everyone, at some point of his or her life, has dreamed of being somebody special, somebody big. Who hasn't fantasized about being the one who hits the game-winning homer? Who hasn't dreamed of being the homecoming queen? And how many times have we dreamed of being rich, or successful, or happy with our relationships?
Often, we dream big dreams and have great aspirations. Unfortunately, our dreams remain just that: dreams. And our aspirations easily collect dust in our attic.
This is a sad turn of events in our life. Instead of experiencing exciting adventures in self actualization, we get caught up in the humdrum of living from day-to-day just barely existing.
But you know what? Life could be so much better, if we learned to aim higher.
The most common problem to setting goals is the word impossible. Most people get hung up thinking I can't do this. It's too hard. It's too impossible. No one can do this.
However, if everyone thought that, there would be no inventions, no innovations, and no breakthroughs in human accomplishment. So there are people who do not believe in impossible.
Remember that scientists were baffled when they took a look at the humble bumblebee. Theoretically, they said, it was impossible for the bumblebee to fly. Fortunately for the bumblebee no one has told it so. So fly it does.
On the other hand, some people suffer from dreaming totally outrageous dreams and not acting on them. The result? Broken dreams, and tattered aspirations.
If you limit yourself with self-doubt, and self-limiting assumptions, you will never be able to break past what you deem impossible. If you reach too far out into the sky without working towards your goal, you will find yourself clinging on to the impossible dream.
Try this exercise. Take a piece of paper and write down some goals in your life. Use the following headers to categorize your goals: CAN DO, 50/50 CHANCE, IMPOSSIBLE TO DO.
Now look at all the headers strive every day to accomplish the goals that are under things you CAN DO. Check them when you are able to accomplish them. As you slowly are able to check all of your goals under that heading, try accomplishing the goals under the other header-the one that reads 50/50 CHANCE.
As of the items you wrote under things you CAN DO are accomplished, you can move the goals that are under things that were once perceived as IMPOSSIBLE TO DO to 50/50 CHANCE.
As you iterate through this process, you will find out that setting goals you thought were impossible become easier to accomplish. And the impossible begin to seem possible after all.
The technique of this exercise is not to limit your imagination. It is to aim high with all your goals laid out before you and start working towards completing goals little by little. Even writing down goals that are "truly unrealistic" have a small chance of succeeding, no matter how outrageous.
Those who just dream towards a goal without working hard end up disappointed and disillusioned, and is where the high performer who is setting goals separates from the crowd.
If you told someone a hundred years ago that it was possible for man to be on the moon, they would laugh at you. If you had told them that you could send mail from here to the other side of the world in a few seconds, they would say you were out of your mind. But, through sheer desire and perseverance, these impossible dreams are now realities.
Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Nothing could be truer. For one to accomplish his or her dreams, there has to be had work and discipline. But take note that that 1% has to be a think-big dream, and not some easily accomplished one.
Go to your gym and ask the largest, most ripped athletes there how they got so fit. They will tell you that there can be no gains unless you are put out of your comfort zone. Remember the saying, "No pain, no gain"? That is as true as it can be.
It's time to dream the impossible! Your limitations to making goals a reality are all only perceived and can be conquered when you simply start on your path. Think big and work hard to attain those dreams. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will just about find out that the impossible has just become a little bit more possible.