It hit me the other day that the only way to improve my average speed on the treadmill was to initiate my run at my goal speed. Starting below my average speed goal drew down the average and would require an accelerated pace to compensate. This is when it hit me that to ‘reach your goals’, you have to operate above them. Put other way, imagine you are ascending a rock wall. The only way to exceed the final stone is to grasp the stones above it. Merely reaching a stone still leaves one hundred percent of you below it.

My goals seem to change all the time. I am consistently wanting more and aiming higher. Expecting more. I strongly believe in the journey over the destination. It is a feeling of hunger that is never satisfied. If you are consistently feeding yourself with short-term, attainable goals, are you in turn limiting your potential? Does it lead you to be more risk-adverse, more content with certainty, and more complacent?

“What are your goals?” How come that hardly gets asked as you get older? Maybe it is something your manager might ask you in the form of, “what are your career goals” – or similarly, the question might come up in an interview. Is that an indication that your career defines you? I feel like that’s true to a large extent. You meet someone new, you ask, “what do you do” – and the implied question is really, “what do you do for work”.. as if it defines everything about you.

I implore you to ask someone you meet, what their goals are and listen to what they have to say. What is their plan to achieve those goals? Challenge whether it is the destination or a piece of the journey. I have spent the majority of my life chasing some very simple goals and I still feel so far away from them. But that is what keeps me hungry. That is what keeps me motivated. I have made tons of progress in pursuit of those goals, and I haven’t limited myself by setting short-term, attainable goals.

I am content with the uncertainty of not knowing how I will reach those goals. As long as I am doing something, I know that I am moving toward those goals. The worst thing I can do is become content with where I am and satisfied with what I have.

You may be surprised by what you can accomplish when you pursue what you believe you cannot.