because they set
their goals too low—
they set goals that
don’t excite them to
the core.
A Warning about Attainable Goals
A lot of people have had the unfortunate experience of being taught about S.M.A.R.T. goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound).
I’m sure some of S.M.A.R.T. is actually, well, smart, but let me tell you something: “Set attainable goals” is the most limiting advice I’ve ever heard when it’s interpreted the way most people interpret it. The real point of this maxim is to prevent you from becoming overwhelmed—for some people, setting too big a goal discourages them because they know deep down that they’ll never get there. But most people don’t need to worry about setting too big a goal; what we need to watch out for is the tendency to play it safe. Most people never take any action because they set their goals too low— they set goals that don’t excite them to the core.
I suppose one could argue that qualifying for the Boston Marathon (for me) was attainable, while, say, trying to win an Olympic gold medal would not have been. Fair enough, but where do you draw the line? For me, Boston sure didn’t feel achievable at the time I set out to do it! Back then, most people probably would have argued that taking, say, fifty-three minutes off my marathon time to get down to four hours was an attainable goal, but running a 3:10 marathon (another fifty minutes faster!) was not. I had no reason to think I could ever train myself to hold a 7:15 mile-per-minute pace for 26.2 miles when, at the time, I couldn’t hold that pace for even one mile! It’s a good thing I was “unreason- able” and didn’t listen to anyone who told me what I was trying to do was impossible.
I’d rather you set a goal that’s too lofty and make a ton of changes but ultimately fall short, than aim too low and never get motivated enough to start.
If you set a goal that feels very attainable, not much changes because it’s something you know you can achieve, thus there’s no need to take any massive action, no need to crash through your perceived limits or trans- form yourself into the incredible person you’d have to be to achieve that goal.
When you set a goal that seems impossible, though, that’s when the magic happens. First, you get insanely excited because it’s something you’ve never dared to lust after before, out of fear of failing. It energizes you just to think, “What if, just maybe, somehow . . . ?”
Then you recognize that, yes, it is impossible—right now. There’s a tremendous gap between where you are and where you want to be, and to close that gap, your whole life will have to change. And that—how you’ll need to change and the person you’ll need to become to achieve your goal—is the real point of setting your sights on something incredible.
Most people never
take any action
because they set
their goals too low—
they set goals that
don’t excite them to
the core.
If you’re hung up on attainable versus unattainable, just forget about it and instead apply this simple test: Does your goal inspire you? Does it make you want to get out the door right now to get to work? If not, find the level of goal that will inspire you the most. If it’s too lofty, you’ll know because you won’t be motivated to do anything. Like- wise if it’s too small. When it’s right, you’ll know because it motivates you into action. I’ll add one disclaimer here, an exception to what I’ve just stated. The one time
I do like the requirement of “attainability” is when it comes to the time frame in which you’d like to reach your goal. It’s said that most of us overestimate what we can achieve in a year, but drastically underestimate what we can achieve in a decade, so don’t fall into the trap of hoping for dramatic changes before you’ve had the chance to put in the work.
I’ve often failed at reaching my goals because I didn’t set the time frame far enough in the future. Often, the temptation to set a really short time frame for doing something far beyond your present ability is a result of laziness (simply not being willing to work for a long time at achieving your goal) or even a form of self-sabotage. For example, if you told yourself you wanted to make it to the Olympics in ten years, you’d be in for ten years of immensely hard work. But tell yourself you’re going to do it in six months and deep down, you know that effort will burn you out and give you an excuse to quit.
Sometimes, when I’ve experienced failure as the result of aiming to achieve a goal too quickly (such as when I failed at qualifying for the Boston Marathon the first six times), I’ve avoided getting discouraged and simply set the goal again, with more moti- vation than ever. But more often, the initial failure took the wind out of my sails and I’ve abandoned goals that at one time meant a lot to me. Shoot for the stars, sure, but give yourself a reasonable amount of time to reach them.