Does this sound counter-intuitive to you?Does setting an impossible goal actually lead to failure and misery and unhappiness?I going to suggest just the opposite.
Your impossible goal will create a life that is not only truly worth living, but is rich in excitement, brings out the best in you, raises your self esteem and makes your life one that is truly worth living.And here is the other BIG SECRET…
Your impossible goal is only labelled as impossible (by you) because you have never breathed life into it. In fact it is much closer to you then you could ever imagine.
The main reasons being that the obstacles between this goal and where you are now are mostly constructs of your mind. So it is time for you to bend your reality like Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Inception.
Creating an Extraordinary Life Tip #1: What is your impossible goal?
One of the common habits of high performing people (which means highly impactful people) is that they have a high degree of clarity. They are really clear about who they are, who they are not, who they are being, who they are not being, and where they are headed.
They also see an impossible goal in front of them, not as the exception, but as the norm.
They know that the word impossible, does not mean something is not possible, it just means that they have not done it before personally. But the chances are that someone else of the same flesh and blood has. So it is not really impossible, it is just something they are yet to figure out – generally from someone else who has already figured it out.
Your impossible goal is also not just about getting to the goal; hitting the target centre; or reaching the peak of the summit.
It is more about who you become on the way to the attainment of your impossible goal.
That is the main, and most important by-product, and the one that creates and extraordinary life for you.
So I ask again…what is your impossible goal?
Here is one of mine: We have 5,000 members at The Practice Online by the 16th of August 2019 (which happens to be my 50th birthday!).
– Are we close to this goal? No
– Are we way off this goal? Yes
– Is there enough time & space to create this? Yes (we generally underestimate what we can do in the short-term and over estimate what we can do in the longer-term)
– Will it be hard? Yes
– Have other human beings achieved similar? Yes (and much much more)
– Will I have to show up differently? ABSOLUTELY!
– Will my life change as a result of achieving this goal: Completely
– Will it positively impact others: Absolutely (It is good for me, good for others, and good for the greater good)
Pause now, and breathe life into your impossible goal.
What is it?
Creating an Extraordinary Life Tip #2: A interesting caveat
Here is the thing with creating an impossible goal.
An impossible goal is about THRIVING in life, not SURVIVING.
Therefore, your impossible goal is one that is AWESOME for you to achieve, but if you do not achieve it, it is not going to mean a threat to your survival. As Tal Ben Sharar would say: It is a STRETCH goal, not a SNAP goal. We want to stretch and grow, not snap and end up in the psyche ward.
An impossible goal is one that you move towards. That pulls you. That entices you and encourages you to grow into. That inspires you to step in to. It is the thing that changes your life. That reshapes who you are.
It is not about survival. Those goals are different. The ones that make sure you are fed and have a roof over you head are not what we are talking about here.
Creating an extraordinary life is about THRIVING, not surviving. So your impossible goal is about transformation. About becoming the greatest expression of yourself. It is not about ‘if I don’t achieve this my life is over’. This state of being, is not going to allow you to become the creative genius you have the potential to be, and who you need to be, to achieve your impossible goal.
Creating an Extraordinary Life Tip #3: You know this one if you have read any of my stuff
Get really clear on the WHY this impossible goal is so awesome. Get your emotions flowing as you picture this impossible goal. Get the fire lit up within your stomach. Get emotionally obsessed with what achieving this goal will feel like. How it will change your life and the life of others.
Get emotionally engaged. Stay emotionally engaged.
This is the trigger to synchronicity in your extraordinary life (also known as the universe chipping in or collapsing a wave of possibility into a quantum event).
See and feel the outcome before it happens.
Draw your impossible goal towards you.
Creating an Extraordinary Life Tip #4: The strategic bit
Now that you have a sense of your impossible goal…
Or if not now, after you finish reading this article.
Step 3 is…(step 1 was decide on the goal and step 2 was get emotionally charged)…
Come up with a smaller, achievable, attainable and in your head ‘possible’ goal, that is taking you in the same direction as your impossible goal.
We want to break the inertia. Create some momentum. Get some feedback. Stimulate the reward centres in your brain and take the first little steps.
Take a small step (NOW or very very very soon) in the direction of your impossible goal, by using a ‘possible’ goal as your first stepping stone.
Because here is the reality as Lao Tzu reminds us: The journey of 1000 miles starts with one step. Your impossible goal is made up of a number of smaller (possible) steps.
So what is a ‘possible’ (and smaller) goal that you could aim for now, or very soon, that is on the path of 1000 miles?
IN SUMMARY
If you want to have an (even more) extraordinary life, then create for yourself an IMPOSSIBLE GOAL.
(PS: There is no age limit on this activity)
(PPS: Clarity of purpose is linked to happiness)
(PPPS: You can also choose not to do this, but…)
Make it about Thriving; not Surviving.
Make is a Stretch Goal; not a Snap Goal (the time frame is one of the keys here).
Get emotionally engaged (See it. Feel it. Live it.).
Get started on something ‘possible’ to create momentum.
And the real goal is this: become the person you are capable of being when you are at your best.
Wishing you all the very best (and if you want help, let me know)
Take care.
Cheers
Carl
PS: You don’t have to figure this out alone.