Why I Set Goals that I Think Are Borderline Impossible to Accomplish

The first thing most gurus will tell you about goals is that they should be S.M.A.R.T. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound.

I agree with every thing except the achievable.

For example: instead of saying that I’m going to pay off 6,000$ of credit card debt in a year (achievable if I pay down 500 a month), I’ll set a goal of saving 500$ in 15 days.

The shocking fact, this works for me about 80% of the time.

Here’s why:

1. I’m a massive procrastinator. If I set goals that follow the rational line of thought (like 6k in 1 year) I’ll wait until about half way through before starting.
2. I do well under pressure. I reach further, I do more and I fight harder.
3. Even if I don’t 100% hit my goal, I’ll have made it much further than just sitting around thinking about it. I’m also that much closer to the original goal.

This over the top line of thought actually pushes me out of the realm of dreaming and into the direct line of action.

It also has the benefit of: if you accomplish the goal as planned, it’s over and you’re on to the next mountain.

If you don’t quite make it, it’s relatively easy to look back on what did or didn’t work and set a new goal. However, you’ve made great progress on that goal.

I would not recommend this method to anyone who takes not reaching 100% success as total failure.

However, here are three ways to set crazy, huge goals that will propel you into achieving more:

1. Choose one of your goals and amp it up by 25%. So if your goal is reading 24 books this year, think about setting it at 30
2. Bump up the time limit. This will get you more focused on the goal. It’s easy to set a goal and get distracted, but with a shorter time frame, it forces more focus.
3. Set a huge goal and chunk it down. For example: instead of writing 50k words a month (hello NaNoWriMo), focus on 2k words a day and level up as often as possible.

Setting these goals takes a lot of grit and determination. However, if it’s truly important, you’ll find a way to make it happen.