Sarah, how are you so positive all the time?

Sometimes my coaching clients try to give up on their impossible goals (notice I said try - do you think I let them?). They originally come to me brimming with excitement and anticipation about their impossible goal. Of course, in the beginning it’s easy to feel that way. But over time (and usually, as their deadline begins to loom), they become discouraged because it doesn’t seem like they’re going to achieve it.

I totally get it. Of course I’ve wanted to give up before too. It can be hard to keep your spirits up when you set a massive goal that just seems like it’s BEYOND impossible now that the deadline looms.

But that’s not true. We’ve all heard cases of people who’ve made millions in just a few days, or lost a ridiculous amount of weight in a month, or a fantastic opportunity came out of nowhere right before all seemed lost.

I mean, come on guys. You’ve seen the movies - the hero doesn’t ever achieve the goal easily with loads of time to spare (if that’s the case, your goal was too easy). That wouldn’t make a good story. They have to rush to Mordor with only JUST enough time to throw the ring in Mount Doom. They have to have a classic “follow that taxi!” car chase and sprint through airport security with only JUST enough time to get a kiss from the cute American girl.

But they NEVER EVER EVER give up on their goal.
EVEN if it doesn’t happen on the exact timeframe they desire.

No one wants to hear the story of the person who set a goal and achieved it with no struggles or problems. They want to hear about the epic journey, when all hope seemed lost but the hero pushed on through!

I was just listening to the fabulous Brooke Castillo on her podcast, and she shared something I thought was pure genius.

She said that you have to look at your goal the way you’d look at children walking. When a child is learning to walk and they’re stumbling and falling all over the place and they’re taking longer to learn than the other kids, we don’t ever doubt that they will walk. Not even for a second.

We’re not thinking, “I don’t know, buddy. You might not be a walker.”

No way!

It doesn’t even occur to us that we could give up on a child learning to walk. Of course they will walk! Even if they’re 4 years old and they STILL haven’t learned. We might try some different tactics. But we’re not giving up.

I’m paraphrasing, but Brooke’s point was this:

So, what if you believed in your goal the way that you believe in children learning to walk? What if you had no doubt , not even for a second, that you will achieve it? How would that change the way you show up for your goal?

I don’t give up on my impossible goals. I just don’t.

And I often get asked, how are you positive all the time? I’m not positive ALL the time. But I don’t give up on my goals because I KNOW I can achieve them.

Right now, 100 push ups seems a world away, when I can only do 10. But 3 weeks ago, I could do zero. So I’m not giving up. 100k Youtube Subscribers seems CRAZY when I’m currently at 264. But I set goals that feel impossible because how damn good is it going to feel when I finally get 100 push ups, and 100k Subscribers? It’s not a matter of if, only a matter of how much I believe in it. Because our thoughts become actions and actions become results. If I stop believing in my goal, (thought) I won’t take action and I won’t get the results.

It’s fully in your hands. Henry Ford was right: whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.