Small Goals Are Justifications For Mediocrity
Set Massive Goals — It’s Easier To Achieve Them
· The problem with puny goals
∘ Competition
∘ Choice overload
∘ Lack of focus
· Why you should set massive goals
∘ You become more deliberate
∘ Your performance is enhanced
∘ You progress faster
· Case study: How to set massive goals
· Final thoughtsI’m sure you’ve heard the saying —
“If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.”
Have you ever questioned why though?
I won’t be surprised if you said “No,” so I’m gonna tell you.
Goals that don’t scare you are enablers.
They allow you to justify mediocrity.
But I get it…
You’ve probably struggled enough to get to where you are today.
You don’t wanna “start over.”
You’re comfortable with how things are and don’t want it to change much to get what you want…
N’aww. How delulu.
Goals you set from this frame form their foundation on fear.
You don’t want to lose.
I hate to break it to ya fella —
This only makes your goal harder to achieve.
Let me show you why…
The problem with puny goals
Puny goals allow you to build on top of what you’ve already got.
It’s like going from iPhone 13 to iPhone 14.
Nothing major.
Minus a few physical features, most people can barely tell the difference between the old version and the upgrade.
“Yeah, the 14 is bigger and has a better camera.”
That totally justifies the price bump (please understand this is sarcasm).
People prefer to go for these tiny jumps cos they don’t require you to lose much (if anything) to realize them.
Daniel Kahneman talks about this when he describes loss aversion.
It states that humans are more sensitive to loss than we are to gain.
But here’s why it’s a problem in this scenario…
Competition
Most people are convinced they don’t have what it takes to achieve great things.
To settle their nerves, they aim for the middle ground.
If more people are aiming for the middle ground, there’s more competition.
This makes it harder.
Here’s a practical example —
Let’s say there’s a universally attractive female and one that’s more average — btw, I hate to segment people like this but for the sake of the example, just bear with me.
Who do you think would be approached more on a night out?
If you said the universally attractive girl, you’re wrong.
“Attractiveness can convey more power over visible space, but that in turn can make others feel they can’t approach that person.” — Dr. Tonya Frevert.
Even OkCupid, the online dating website, says the people who post the most beautiful profile pictures are less likely to receive dates than people with more down-to-earth looks.
But why? Simple.
If you think there’s a greater chance of failing, you won’t try.
So what ends up happening is the “average-looking” lady gets plagued with options.
Guys think there’s a better chance of landing her than the universally attractive babe.
What they don’t know is hundreds of other dudes are thinking the exact same way.
Basically, there’s more competition — It’s harder to get her.
Fellas. Be honest. You know it’s true.
Choice overload
Puny goals present you with several pathways to achieve.
For example, let’s say your goal is to move out of your parent's house:
- You can mortgage a property
- You can buy one outright
- You can start squatting
- You can buy a caravan
- You can rent
- You can go on the housing register and wait for the government to find you somewhere
This is all I can think of for now, but it’s a shitload of options.
Alvin Toffler would refer to this as “choice overload.”
It’s when you’re faced with too many options and struggle to make a rational choice.
The difficulty of the decision-making process makes it harder for you to spot the right option.
When you eventually do make a decision, you feel dissatisfied.
Sound familiar?
You’re probably experiencing this phenomenon right now.
If the life you’re living is what you once wished for but still feels unsatisfying, you’ve found the culprit.
You can fall victim to choice overload for several reasons:
→ The number of options → The number of attributes → Time constraints → Preference uncertainty Etc.
These pressures get you worked up.
It causes you to either: 1) make a decision and regret it later, 2) pick the safest option or 3) postpone making a decision altogether to avoid being wrong.
Lack of focus
This reason is tied to the previous one…
A lack of focus impacts your performance.
You don’t need drastically remove things from your life when there’s several paths to reach your destination.
For example, let’s say it’s your goal to buy a new car.
You probably wouldn’t pay someone else to do things that don’t move you closer to your goal (like cleaning or cooking) right?
You’d say, “Nah I’m saving that money for a new car.”
Performance impacted.
Spending money on someone else to do unnecessary tasks means more time for you to earn money.
If you earn more money, you can get the car faster.
Things take longer when you’re not focused.
Why you should set massive goals
I’m not telling you to set massive goals to be ridiculous.
Elon Musk ain’t being ridiculous when he says he wants to live on Mars in his lifetime — he believes it.
There’s value in going for bigger goals (even if you don’t achieve them).
You’ll be forced to expand your current capacity.
It’s good for your growth as a human.
There’s a few other reasons too…
You become more deliberate
Here’s why massive goals are easier —
There’s fewer paths to achieve them.
If you wanna become a multimillionaire you must start a business.
If you wanna become the best athlete in the world you must find the right coaches
If you wanna marry a super model you must go to the right events to find them
Massive goals are easier cos they filter out all the bullshit.
The path is clear so you can become simple — not saying “yes” to absolutely everything.
But here’s the cool part…
You’ll still achieve the small goals on your way to the big goal.
It’s a win-win.
Your performance is enhanced
Edwin Locke dropped a bombshell article back in 1968 called “Toward a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentives.”
This piece formed the foundation of effective goal-setting.
The long and short of the article was —
When you set specific but difficult goals, you’ll perform better than if you set general easy ones.
Why?
Cos you have something clear to aim for.
This means you get feedback with every swing you take. It also makes you feel motivated to continue pursuing your scary goals.
You push yourself to new limits as you improve to meet the standard of the goal.
You’re more likely to fail along the way, but once you achieve it you’ll feel a greater sense of accomplishment knowing you worked your bullocks off to achieve it.
You progress faster
Massive goals open the door to pathways thinking.
Pathways thinking is the development of routes to goal achievement.
When the goal is massive, you probably won’t know how to achieve it…
But you know what they say —
“When the why is big enough, you’ll find the how.”
Setting massive goals forces you to become a scientist.
You conduct a number of experiments to accept or reject a hypothesis you’ve come up with.
You continually adjust your path or process based on feedback to reach your goal.
This is why it’s easier to make more progress in a month than someone makes in a year.
Case study: How to set massive goals
The other day I was speaking with one of my coaching clients.
She has a watch company.
She told her team, “If you sell 10 watches, it’s a major credit to your marketing skills.”
Instead of helping her come up with a strategy, I upped the stakes —
“What about if they sold one hundred?”.
“Gosh! That would be amazing. I’d get my investment back plus a whole load of profit.” She replied.
Now I can see why she set her team's standards so low — it was all about her selfish desires.
“Do you think it’s possible to sell 100,000 watches?” I asked her.
“There’s companies doing it so it’s definitely possible.”
“Okay, so what about you? Can your company sell 100,000 watches?” I responded.
“Erm, I mean it’s possible. But I can’t imagine what it would be like.”
“Perfect. Start there. Get obsessed with trying to sell 100,000 in the next 12 months.”
Of course she looked at me like a madman, but it will do her a whole leap of justice.
Shifting the target exponentially will change how she builds, markets, sells, and even thinks about her watches.
It won’t be about what the watches will do for her (return on her investment); it will be about what her watches mean to her customers.
Now she has to dig deep:
- Why would 100,000 people buy a watch?
- What’s the problem with watches out there?
- Who am I targeting with my watches?
I’m sure you get my gist.
Final thoughts
Setting goals ridiculously higher than your current comprehension makes your life simpler.
There’s fewer avenues leading to the final destination so you must cut out all the excess fat that doesn’t serve you.
It might sound ridiculous at first, but give it a shot and see how your life changes.
Thanks for reading!
Get your hands on a FREE copy of “Don’t Just Set Goals. Build Systems” if you’re tired of setting goals and not achieving them.
