Goals are only half the battle
The most important question in goal setting is: How bad do you want it?
“This year, I want to be a Hindu god.”
That was how my 5-year-old nephew started our family’s New Year’s resolutions.
He immediately followed it up with, “and I want to be able to put five cheese balls in my mouth at once.”
Dream big, George.
Annual goals are not just difficult for 5-year-olds, they are hard for all of us.
Sometimes because we set impossible goals, such as becoming a Hindu god.
Other times they are too easy, such as putting five cheese balls in your mouth.
And often, the time frame is off.
For example, a few years ago, my 7-year-old nephew said, “This year, I want to go to heaven.”
While I share that long-term goal with him, I am thankful he failed at accomplishing it then.
Even if we get the goals right, it is only half the equation.
The most important question in goal setting is: How bad do you want it?
Put another way: What are you willing to give up to reach your goal?
Do you want to lose weight? Learn a new skill? Spend more time with your family?
How bad do you want it?
To accomplish any goal, we have to give something else up. Something we currently value.
None of us has an extra three hours a day where we had previously been staring at the wall. If we did, accomplishing our goals would be simple.
We would just have to sub out wall-staring for working out, or guitar playing, or daily prayer and meditation. By the end of the year, we would be in shape, shredding the guitar and on our way to finding inner peace.
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.
We enjoy watching TV and movies.
We love listening to our favorite podcasts or scrolling on our phones.
Sleeping-in feels nice.
These things are all comfortable and nice. But they are the things we have to be willing to give up to accomplish many goals. They are the things standing in our way.
To strive for greatness, it’s going to be uncomfortable.
Do you want your goal bad enough to wake up at 4:30 in the morning and run in the cold, in the dark?
Bad enough to turn off the TV at 9 p.m. and head up to bed?
Bad enough to not eat dessert, or give up your favorite wine or bourbon?
Most of the time, our answer is, “Not bad enough.”
However, if you answered, “I want it bad. I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”
Well, now I’m interested. Because if you want something bad enough, you can accomplish any dream.
I know, because I’ve done it.
When I was a kid, my best friend’s mom used to make fun of me because I ran “like a duck.” I would be playing football in the backyard and I would hear her say, “quack quack,” and laugh from her deck.
When I turned 30, I decided I wanted to start running. And I’ve grinded it out: almost every morning before the sun comes up, on 100-degree days and -20 days, and with a 15-pound backpack containing my computer and suit as I head to work.
The result: I regularly win 5Ks. I ran my fastest time ever this year.
I previously had no experience playing music. I have been accused of being “tone deaf” based on my singing ability. Fair.
Six years ago, I started playing the banjo. That was also the year of an overly emotional Green Bay Packers football loss, when I unmounted my only TV from my wall and put it in the garbage.
I haven’t owned a TV since.
I used that time to learn to play the banjo.
Earlier this year, I played in front of nearly 100 people at the University of Notre Dame, at the “23rd Annual Notre Dame Folk Festival.”
What is important isn’t the goal, but how bad you want it. And what you’re willing to give up for it.
As we begin 2022, we’ve all thought about what we want to accomplish this year.
The most important part comes next. Ask yourself, “How bad do I want it?” If the answer is, “I want it bad,” please email me and let me know what your goal is. I will do everything I can to make sure you accomplish it.
That is, unless your goal is to become a Hindu god. Then you’re on your own.
Happy New Year.