I have zero evidence that I will hit my July Goals, but I'm still certain I will.
We don’t need evidence from the past to know what we're capable of in the future.
We just need the simple decision that we're willing to do whatever it takes to make our goals happen.
When you know you'll never give up – you already know the outcome.
It might sound counter-intuitive, but the most effective way to hit an impossible goal isn’t to view it like a marathon.
It’s much better to view it as a series of short sprints and rests.
Sprinters don’t experience burnout the way marathoners do.
Sprinters don’t need days and days to recover the way marathoners do.
Sprinters don’t struggle with focus, the way marathoners do.
It’s particularly important with impossible goals because they might be lengthy and could take weeks, months or years to achieve.
Sprinters run FAST.
Marathoners run HARD.
So if you’ve been hard on yourself recently for not being as focused or productive as you’d like to be – it might be because you’re treating your goals like a marathon.
Instead try this: Sprint, then rest.
Here’s what that could look like in action:
25 minutes of work, followed by a 5 minute break (the pomodoro technique). Repeat.
A 7 day mindset journaling challenge.
4 coaching calls with an hour break in between each (rather than 4 back-to-back calls with the rest of the day off).
Giving 100% effort to a task for a quarter of the time.
How could you break your impossible goal down into sprints and rests?
I felt myself running out of energy this evening.
But then I remembered the most helpful rule about energy: Even if you’ve only got 30% to give, give 100% of that 30%.
So instead of opting out entirely, I'm here, giving 100% of my 30%.
Some helpful thoughts I had this evening:
“Okay, I don’t have the capacity to go crazy with it right now. What could I do to move closer to my July goals anyway?”
And I found small, impactful ways to move forward, by reposting something I had written a while ago.
So the moral of the story is: Give it everything you’ve got, no matter how much you’ve got.
What if we showed up for our July Goals like every day was the last day of July?
That’s 31 opportunities to make bold, gutsy, last-minute moves.
31 chances to try our crazy “it’s-a-long-shot-but-it-might-just-work” plans.
31 openings to sprint through airport security for a first kiss, or make a risky phone call, or ask a favour from a friend’s sister’s old roommate.
Because if it doesn’t work, all hope is not lost.
We’ve got time on our side. We can try a long shot again tomorrow.
But only if we act like it’s the final moment before it really is the final moment.
It crossed my mind today: what if July 2021 has already happened – and we didn’t hit our goals – and the time lords are gifting us a do-over?
That means every morning this month it’s our job to wake up and decide “Today is the day.”
And then take ridiculous, wild action that only a main character in a romcom would be fearless enough to try.
We’ve been given 31 last chances to hit our July goals.
LFG.
Today marks the beginning of the second half of 2021! Who’s ready to make it the best half?
I’ve been reviewing my yearly goals to make sure I’m on track, and based on that list, I’m setting four goals this month.
Hit 5000 members in the Impossible Girls Facebook Group
I truly believe we have something special in this group. Everyone is following each other’s goals and dreams and helping each other with requests. SO fun. More women need to know about it!
Redo my office space
I am ridiculously excited that my property manager gave me permission to remove a display that was GLUED onto the wall, and now I can get started on creating a display that makes me feel like my ideal future self when I’m in my office.
Complete two years of blogging in a row
You guys. In 21 days, I will be DONE. I love blogging but I’m excited to put my daily blogging efforts into new exciting projects like…
Write the first episode of my podcast
It’s become super apparent to me that a podcast is my next step. But I’m committing right now, to making it the most fun, Joyful project - not a stressful one. Still deciding on a name for my podcast (open to suggestions!).
What are your goals for July?
Double my emergency fund
DONE! I’m so stoked that I managed to do this because I wasn’t sure if I over-invested into my emergency fund and would end up needing to take it all back out again. Super stoked that I managed to double it because it’s a great feeling to have it. (Although, I always remind myself: my security is in my brain, not my bank account).
Do a cardio workout at least 4x a week
INCOMPLETE. I only ended up working out 1-2x a week on the days when I had an external activity planned – like tap dancing or swing dancing. (Just another reminder of how important accountability is). I realised my rookie mistake here – I didn’t actually set an exciting goal. “Workout 4x a week” isn’t inspiring. I should have set myself a fun CHALLENGE.
Join a dance class with Daniel
Done! We joined a Swing Dancing class and we’ve learned to do the the basic Lindy Hop moves as well as “the chicken"“ and “kick the dog”.
Actively revisit the Ultimate Relationship Program with Tony Robbins
Done! We learned about the three levels of relationships and it sparked some great conversations. I think that’s the biggest bonus of this entire program – not the content, but the conversations that we’re having because of it.
This evening I found out that our brains can’t distinguish between working and not working when we’re on our phones. So that means, even if we take a break from work to scroll through social media or watch a video or read an article, our brains still think we’re working.
Think about that: how many hours does your brain think you work?
Woah.
No wonder we’re a society of burnt out people.
Extra fun fact: researchers (don’t ask me where from, go ask Celeste Headlee) found that our brain is constantly aware and on high alert just for having a smart phone in our field of vision.
It’s not tech that is causing us damage though.
It’s our obsession with using it all the time.
The message today: do something that doesn’t involve tech!
I saw this photo and immediately could relate.
Sometimes, all you want to do is stay snuggled in a blanket and feel blah.
(Blah is an official emotion, you know the feeling, right?).
But I’ve decide I will still always show up for my commitments.
It doesn’t mean I won’t take a break, or relax a bit first, or do a meditation or let out the BLAH feeling first.
It just means that by the end of the day, no matter how I’m feeling, all of my commitments get done.
Today is one of those days.
Your worth doesn't come from hitting your goals.
Don't confuse your human value with your achieved value.
You are 100% worthy already, just for existing.
Like a puppy.
A puppy doesn't have to DO anything for you to love it.
It's enough that it's a puppy.
YOU are enough just for existing.
The goal part? It's just for fun.
Breathe into that, for real.
Goals are just for fun.
What if you just did one thing towards your goal today?
ONE.
You could make one phone call.
Or write one sentence.
Or send one email.
Or ask one person for help.
You could think about doing it.
But what if you actually did it?
You’d be one action closer.
And it could be the thing that changes everything.
The phone call could connect you to the exact person you need.
The sentence could be a stroke of genius.
The email could land you the ideal client.
The ask could turn into an opportunity of a lifetime.
Just ONE action today could be the difference between achieving your biggest goals now or waiting another 10 years.
Pick any action. It doesn’t have to be the one you’ve been dreading.
It could be the easiest, tiniest action in the world – and it could still change everything.
Don’t wait.
HOLD UP. We gotta talk about this phrase “Don’t get your hopes up.”
You don’t want me to feel a good emotion in case there’s a bad emotion coming?
That’s like saying, don’t enjoy the ride in case the destination sucks.
Whaaaaaat?!
When you don’t let yourself get your hopes up, you’re literally STEALING joy from yourself.
The anticipation of achieving a goal is almost always THE BEST BIT!
When you achieve it, you’ll probably celebrate for 5 minutes and want to set a new goal anyway. So enjoy the ride. Get your hopes up.
Plus, here’s what I think about you: I think you’re strong enough to handle the disappointment of not achieving your money goal, or of getting rejected by a job, or of not winning a competition.
I think you can handle it.
Get your hopes up, have an amazing time anticipating the wonderful joy ahead of you – and then if you don’t achieve it, at least you’ll have had fun along the way.
Getting your hopes up is a beautiful thing. Gift it to yourself and others!
The identity paradox is this:
You have to be the person who has hit your goal before you can be the person who has hit your goal.
You have to embody them. Step into the role. Walk like them, talk like them, act like them in every way.
Only then will you be able to hit your goal – once you ARE the person who can hit your goal.
Yesterday, while planning what content to create next, I broke my own number one rule: Always create a simple plan.
Instead, I got swept up in the moment and decided to create a complicated plan, with bells and whistles and cherries on top.
I made a content calendar with stickers and tabs and color-coded markers.
I cooked up ideas for 6 different kinds of content (videos, reels, posts, quotes, stories, livestreams).
I worried about unnecessary details (should I do music or voiceovers with my reels?).
And within 30 minutes, I found myself so overwhelmed I was nearly in tears.
Over a content calendar.
I felt like Kim Kardashian in that episode where she loses her earring in the ocean and has a full on breakdown.
And then I remembered something really important: the wheel has already been invented.
And it works excellently. No need to create a content calendar or a social media strategy or ANYTHING.
A reminder of my simple plan that's been working for years:
1. Create valuable content.
2. Post it.
What’s your simple plan?
Do your goals feel like problems?
A goal to create your first client becomes “the problem of not having clients.”
A goal to write your first book becomes “the problem of getting myself to write.”
A goal to feel fit and healthy becomes “the problem of self control.”
What used to feel light and exciting now fills you with feelings of dread and inadequacy.
If you see your goals as problems, you’ll always have problems – because there will always be another level, another bar to hit.
But if you decide to look at it like a project, it will be fun.
The Writing Project is a lot more fun than The Writing Problem, right?
What project are you working on?
Today I hit 700 days of blogging in a row.
That means there’s 30 days left until I’ve officially done two years in a row.
I’m so grateful for this chapter (or 700 mini chapters).
And I can’t wait to begin a new one. I LOVE writing, and I LOVE blogging.
But I’m even more in love with setting new impossible goals.
I can’t wait to share what I’ve got coming.
It doesn’t have to be a new week, or a new year or a birthday – you can decide to make a giant change, right now.
Everything can change because in this exact moment, you decide it’s going to change.
That’s how I became a runner.
It was a random Tuesday of no real significance.
I just had a lightning bolt moment of “I’m sick of thinking about running – I’m deciding RIGHT NOW, I’m doing this.”
And then I ran nearly single day that entire summer.
One day, when you’re ultra successful and you’re being interviewed about your incredible success, they’ll ask “How did it all begin?”
And you’ll say “I just made a decision one day.”
That day could be today.
Decide right now to do the thing you’ve been putting off.
Sometimes it really is that simple.
