Aim for the Moon, If you miss...

If you don't aim high enough, you may never reach your goal; but if you aim too high and miss, at least the stars will guide your way.

In this post we talk about how to set really ambitious targets for yourself and evaluate what's worth aiming for. You'll also find out how to get into the mindset of just going all in and following through with a plan. Finally, we'll outline some important strategies that can help you figure out what it takes to crack that ceiling and make a major leap forward in your career or business.

Let's start with a personal example:

We'll let our friend and very talented artist Leo Caillard explain how setting a high goal, and missing by a few millimetres, didn't stop his passion for drawing. A good lesson for anyone who's aiming to make something big happen with their art career. Watch the video here ;)

But what if you don't have the talent or commitment to be an artist or sports star? Does that mean you're not cut out for excellence? Of course not. There are many ways to use these ideas in your life: as a student, a musician, an entrepreneur or anyone pursuing their passion in life!

Let's take it further...

IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT, YOU CAN'T LOSE IT

One of the most famous psych terms is Learned Helplessness, which is actually coined by Philip Zimbardo. It's a state of mind where you stop seeing the world as an open book and start believing that you are helpless over your future. The fear of uncertainty (FOIE) explains how people in this state see everything as a threat (what would happen if I fail?). This leads to feeling helpless and paralyzed in any type of situation where failure could be around the corner. This lack of action can lead to remarkable things as well...

Over the time, this state of mind has influenced a lot of things, from the concept of the 'broken window theory' to Albert Bandura's famous theory on 'social learning'. It turns out that people who have this state of mind are more likely to create environments where things will get broken. Basically, it's easier to learn from an environment where you can't lose than if there is no such thing as failure.

Here is a nice book that explains the concept in great detail: The Broken Window Theory: How To Fix Broken Windows and Save Our Economy By Bob Thomas & Colin O'Neil. You can read a summary of their work on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_learning

THE FEAR OF FAILURE IS JUST A STATE OF MIND

Now, what does this have to do with the fear of failure? Well, it has to do with one important concept: it was never about you in the first place. It's just a state of mind that was created by external circumstances. Just as you can change your mindset and become more persistent that you were before, you can also change your fear of failure into a healthy fear for not reaching your full potential.

Conclusion

Don't try to achieve something you aren't fully capable of. You'll only end up burning yourself out. Don't try to prevent the world from breaking your window, build a door instead!

if you can't fail, you're not trying hard enough. so just go all in and focus on achieving your full potential!

So what's the best way to set really ambitious goals for yourself? Well, first thing's first...

IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING A STATISTIC

It's important to remember that our current system works in favor of those who are trouncing on statistics.