I believe in setting big, impossible goals, as I’ve learned that what seems impossible—like having extreme anxiety—can be cured, such that we forget what anxiety feels like. Similarly, we could be sick and unable to work, projecting two years left to live, but turn it around to where we are coached by an Olympian hopeful. Or we lose everything, where we have no support or assets, but then incredible opportunities appear. Nothing is impossible, so, to me, it’s desirable to set impossible goals. However, the highs, lows, and touchdowns toward the impossible must be sprinkled with SMART goals. SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Setting a web of SMART goals can guide us to the mountain’s peak, where the impossible lives. Otherwise, it’s a crap shoot.
It’s the strategy used in the sports movie Moneyball. It’s the strategy used by the elite Olympian training swim club called the Race Club. It’s also the strategy that significantly benefits leadership roles. That strategy is to document and measure everything and set smart goals. However, SMART goals require research, because without research the goals might collapse, causing morale to take a hit. According to Earl Nightingale, the diamonds are not over in the hills but in our backyards. We need to be innovative in excavating them.
My goal is to bring the message of unconditional love to the world. Unfortunately, my first proposal for my documentary on unconditional love was rejected, yet I remain optimistic. I have two more funders to go, and if I don’t receive funding this year, I can fix my shortcomings and try again next year. However, one of my interviewees is in his twilight years. He doesn’t have much time in this world, and a condition he placed on accepting my interview was my receipt of funding. Plus, he requires me to read his book and view several of his podcasts, which I’m over halfway through. I’ve also invested in many 1:00 a.m. discussions with ChatGPT to help me understand this interviewee’s Quantum Physics and Genomics chapters. Another of my vital interviewees is in his twilight, too, but is very ill. And my third interviewee has poor health and multiple surgeries coming up. I desperately need all three interviews, as the project would collapse without any one of them. So, I’ve been praying while fixing my shortcomings and strategies, which is a process that also bodes well for student success. I haven’t yet formulated a SMART goal for this endeavor, but it’s time.
I also set a side goal to get private lessons from a Thai Massage instructor. Today, I discovered I could receive 90 hours of Thai massage training for $2500. That means I’d spend over three months learning the art of Thai Massage for a full day each week. I wanted to learn Thai massage for nearly 20 years, which will happen within a year if I get the year-end bonus. My bonus hinges on my success with a product launch that previously failed, and the sole responsibility for its success lies with me. At some point, no matter who we are, success comes down to grit, tact, and execution. And if we fail, even if a hundred times, spring back up, boxing gloves flailing, but with good form. Good form is best delivered with SMART goals.
My process is as follows: I document my tasks in an Excel spreadsheet and include screenshots, the date, notes, results, status, and next steps. (It’s like a sports playbook.) Ironically, if my memory is correct, I got this template from a group called Lazy Girls. Supposedly, it’s the lazy girls’ way of getting a big promotion: Work less but document successes to submit for corporate reporting purposes. And I plan to invest the time to sit down and research SMARTer goals, which keep morale high, even when we stumble.
So, once we make SMART goals, we’re off to the races. If we’re missing a piece of the puzzle and everything collapses, thrusting us into the woods, then take out our documents and measures and analyze it to death, strategizing SMARTer goals. No dream is impossible when paved with SMART goals, whether we aim to herald a message of unconditional love for every soul, earn half a million annually, or climb the corporate ladder to the pinnacle of leadership. So, what impossible dreams are burning in our hearts? Set those impossible goals and watch them burgeon with each SMART step, from tiptoe to full sprint.
