12 Beliefs About Goals: Part II
The list—my beliefs about finding success in the goal-chasing process—continues.
I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath.
But first a quick message from our sponsor (this statement was funnier in my mind imagining this to be similar to a quick advertisement interlude on the TV or radio):
Get started on your BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOAL…today!
This past weekend I had the opportunity to deliver my first keynote presentation. As I mentioned last week, this has been a goal since 2015. That’s a long time to hold something.
At first, it was fun to dream.
But, dreams can get kind of miserable…
…when the days pass…
…then the weeks pass…
…and then the months pass…
…and then the years pass with…
…nothing.
Just start.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly things can actually come together.
And, no, it won’t be perfect.
But, it will be teeming with possibility. And that is a powerful force to keep the momentum going on your goal.
Just Start
“Wait! You just told us that, Reed.”
I know, I can’t help myself—it’s just worth repeating.
Because, getting started is the hardest part—it’s the hardest thing you’re going to have to do.
At the outset.
And then, yes, likely each day when you sit down to make progress on your goal.
I went to bed on Tuesday night excited about the space that I had in the morning: “Ah, time to write—I can get this week’s newsletter done.”
On Wednesday morning, I sat down at my desk with my coffee, notebook, and pen…
…nothing.
Even with an outline—nothing.
So, “forget it—I’ll just draw.”
I flipped through my sketchbook to a blank page.
That, too, seemed like a massive effort to start something and, per usual, I was feeling guilty about not getting some writing done.
So, back to my notebook to write.
I got a few words down, but it just wasn’t there.
So, back to my sketchbook where I finally just let go and started sketching a mountain range using a shading technique—stippling—that I’ve been enjoying a lot lately: as Julie says, “that a LOT of dots!”
Thirty minutes later I emerged from the page: “It looks like Lord of the Rings.”
I gave it a title and then an idea emerged: “this experience is exactly what my bullet point on goals is about—just start.”
I had a plan for how the morning was going to go—it was perfect in my mind. But, as I imagined it, it wasn’t happening.
So, I pivoted.
Or, should I say, I started.
When it comes to your goal, just start: at the outset and then again each day.
As Scott Welle says, “the good plan that is followed is better than the perfect plan that is quit.”
The Goal Is Just the Goal—the Process Is What You Can’t Imagine
I was running down some random street in Haines City, FL—likely headed to one of many dead end turnarounds that were on the race course.
Or, maybe it was on the part of the race course where we had to run onto a school parking lot and then trace the perimeter of the parking lot.
Then again, it could have been on the part of the race course where we ran up a neighborhood block, then turned to head over to the next block where we then ran back the opposite way, and then did this at least one more time.
And, I can’t remember if this was on the first, second, or third loop of the course.
All of this with the end goal of getting every participant to 26.2 miles of running.
It was 2018 and I was competing in my first Ironman triathlon. Somewhere along this monotonously boring run course I distinctly remember saying to myself: “Really?!? This is what all the Ironman fuss is about.”
The goal—the actual event—left a lot to be desired.
But, that was irrelevant in the whole scheme of things.
The process—wow!
When it comes to your goal…
…the process is life-changing…
…the process is life-giving…
…the process creates the story.
The process—from starting to completing—is what you can’t imagine.
Tell a Lot of People About It
Tell your spouse.
Tell your parents.
Tell your friends.
Tell your colleagues.
Tell the gas station attendant.
Tell the librarian.
Tell your kid’s teachers.
Tell…
Tell…
Tell…
I don’t know where the idea came from, but one day I was sitting at work and I made a firm decision to bikepack from Minneapolis, MN to Tuckahoe, NY.
The idea took hold and I ran with it.
It was going to be my summer vacation—a two week trip on my bike.
And, I told everyone about it.
In doing so, it forced me to dive in hard to make it happen.
Because, I had to—the logistics for this trip were overwhelming. I strongly believe that had I not told people, I would have backed out early on in the process because the effort to prepare was massive.
Telling others kept me accountable.
Telling others kept me in the game.
Telling others built a community of support around me.
And, guess what: I didn’t even make it. I got to Marquette, MI and had to call it quits.
With this, I was afraid to tell people.
But, not a single person cared.
And, I’d do it all over again—I continue to do it.
Whether you find success or fall short, tell a lot of people about your goal.
Shout if from the roof tops.
It’s a lovely protective factor to keep you in the game.
The Dreaming Is the Worst Part
Oh, but it’s lovely at first.
It’s so fun to dream—oh, the places you’ll go.
But as time passes—days turn to weeks, which turn to months, which turn to years—a dream can be a very heavy place to live.
Wait long enough and that dream can lead to looking back at some point later on in life where you’re left saying, “if only I had…”
Use the dream as motivation.
Use the dream to drum up energy.
Use the dream to visualize.
But, you have to make a determined effort to turn the dream into a goal.
Rest easy on the goal that you’re pursing—the actual work—rather than lying awake thinking about a long-held dream.
One more week to come. I know you can hardly wait.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you:
What do you truly believe about goals?
Don’t be shy.
Leave a comment!