Unfeasible Goals Can Be Achieved

The Seventh and Final Lesson from 1,000 Meditations

This is the seventh and final article about the lessons learned from one thousand meditations. If you missed the last post, check it out here:

Last year, I set a goal to meditate every day to cope with my lifelong companion: Anxiety. I recorded my sessions and managed to reach 1,000 meditations by the end of the year, blowing my primary target out of the water. Realizing unfeasible goals can be achieved is the seventh final lesson I learned during my meditation journey.

Setting goals is easy, the ultimate challenge is making it through all the micro challenges along the way. If you can do this, you should make it to the end of your commitment feeling fulfilled. In the beginning of 2022, I couldn't fathom doing meditating five hundred times let alone one thousand. I shocked myself when I passed each checkpoint and even readjusting my target before crushing my goal.

“One part at a time, one day at a time, we can accomplish any goal we set for ourselves.” — Karen Casey

Beginning the new year with a list of goals is thrilling. The lesser known component of the new year/new me mentality is the immense pressure that comes with sticking to the plan. On January 1st, the gym is packed, but on the 30th, the crowd slims to a fraction of itself. I think the issue with consistency is the initial arousal associated with starting something new causes one to overload their plate with expectations they can’t fulfill.

After a goal is set, we want to skip across the finish line, surpassing all the presumptions we had about achievement. But all it really takes is one baby step, once a day. Imagine your goal is to run everyday, but you only run once a week for the first month. I guarantee you will still be running more than you ran the month before.

If you still can’t contain the ambitious beast within, conceptualize the future version of yourself that is a runner. Who do you spend time with? What are you wearing? Where are you? How have you changed? Reach out and grab the vision you see. There is nothing stopping you from dawning your ideal persona.

Simply by changing your perception of who you are can yield considerable gains whilst quenching your thirst for success. It might sound corny or even dishonest to assume a personality you don’t reflect. But making a significant change within yourself is a part of embracing the change you will discover in your day to day life during the pursuit of a goal.

Meditating twice a day sounds a lot easier than doing 730 meditations in a year. I remember feeling overwhelmed when focusing on the big picture and wondering if I’d actually reach my objective. I chuckled to myself when I surpassed it, and committed to 1,000 meditations. Unfeasible goals can be achieved.

What is the smallest act you can perform to further yourself in the pursuit of one of your goals? It might just be drinking enough water today. You will make progress. One baby step, once a day.