Increase Your Goal Capacity
When we set a goal, inherent in its character, it will be beyond our present capacity.
Even a goal to paint the fence on the weekend will require adjustment to our present weekend habit.
We have the capacity to paint the fence, but the looming threat to success is the decisions those around us may make, which could derail us.
That is why, mid week, we announce to all parties “I’m painting the fence on Saturday!”
Painting may not be a glamorous as Olympic or commercial success, but the process is the identical; once the goal is set we must anticipate what could go wrong and increase our capacity to handle calamity.
For instance, an athlete may have trained meticulously for twelve years to be at the Olympics, then before the opening ceremony they learn they are required to walk 5km to the opening ceremony, stand waiting for three hours, then parade for several hours before walking home again. Read More
Recognising when to be brave
My favourite scene in a movie is the moment when a key character realises they can be the hero.
When Adrian finally tells Rocky to ‘win!’. When Frances finally commits to the bloody lift in Dirty Dancing. When Dumbo finally realises he doesn’t need the feather! And in The Blindside when Michael finally uses his strength.
These stir emotions in all of us because deep in side we all hope we are made from similar stuff, that when our moment comes, we will be able to step up to the plate. And in doing so we might inspire and serve those we love. We want the exhilaration of doing something brave and hard.
She confidently spoke up and outlined the advice she regularly gave to her clients. Her tone suggested the topic we were discussing didn’t cause a moment of problem in her consultancy. Yet quickly I could see her advice was flawed. I could see it would never be effective. So I asked her “And do you use that strategy yourself?”
“Umm… no… not really. I guess I’ve never really found a good way to handle that problem.”
Then how can she get away with selling that advice? The answer, because people buy and believe what ‘sounds right’. They buy and believe clichés, rarely assessing if the advice is practical, viable, applicable, effective or even delusional. Read More