Goals Need Clarity
A close friend of mine has a massive fear of heights. I vividly remember him having to stop before a very tall bridge—paralyzed by fear—to let a stranger drive us across. Bizarrely, we later drove across a different bridge, same height, and there was money at the very top. Cold hard cash. I have no idea how it got there, maybe some insanely rich person used cash instead of napkins. No idea how it got there, but there was money on top of this bridge. Overcoming his fear in an instant, my friend pulled over and as if he was on a game show, started grabbing as much cash as he could.
It’s funny how opportunity can help us overcome our fears. What once made us freeze in fear is completely neglected as we chase down something we want. Chasing down what now seems possible and attainable.
My obstacles and fears are often times much more real in my mind than my dreams of what’s possible. Maybe that’s something you wrestle with too.
A few years ago, I started doing something crazy. (I’m still a little embarrassed to talk about it, but I’m going share because it has become an insane source of power in my life and maybe it can help you too.) I’d always heard about people who write their goals down every day. Every. Single. Day. I was cynical about this idea. First, who has time for that? Second, it was hard for me to believe all the sub-conscience (seemingly) mumbo jumbo about how our brains make connections with our goals yada yada yada. Then, a friend challenged me to try it, and started writing my goals every day. I even wrote down some goals that seemed ridiculous. Literally laughing at myself as I wrote one goal because I thought, there’s NO WAY this will happen. But it did. So did the other goals.
I’m not saying you should also write your goals daily as me and other crazy people do. The point is that goals need clarity. They need a lot more clarity than our obstacles. More clarity than our fears. Yet, most of the time we focus on the obstacles, making THOSE crystal clear. And that—that decimates the clarity of our dreams. Our hopes. Venus Williams says, “I don’t focus on what I’m up against. I focus on my goals and I try to ignore the rest.”
Are you spending more time focusing on what you're up against than what's possible? It’s interesting that the two extreme possibilities of a dream and a fear, both equally unrealized, can determine our reality, and can determine the actions we take or don’t take today.
Today, I hope you’ll focus on what’s possible. Not only will you be more inspired to take action, but you’ll be a heck of a lot happier, too.