If you want to achieve your goals, start by looking at what you’ve already done that someone else would call impossible. I can hear you shaking your head from here. Stay with me.
I spent part of this week at a training conference for work, and I came home with some solid professional takeaways plus a goal-setting insight I haven’t stopped thinking about. It came from a presenter whose bio mentioned that he’s an Ironman triathlete. Naturally, people asked him about it all week long.
During one of his sessions, he brushed off any “elite athlete” label. He said, “I’m no different than you. We’ve all encountered something that seems impossible to someone else.”
I don’t disagree with him. Not even a little. Everyone has something that makes another person squint and say, “Wait, you do what?” But in his effort to be humble, I think he skipped over the most important part.
Nobody Wakes Up an Ironman
An Ironman means swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and then running a full 26.2-mile marathon. Back-to-back-to-back. Most people couldn’t finish even one of those legs without serious preparation, and that’s before you ask them to do the other two.
Sure, some people have natural ability or the right body type, and that might make the starting line a little friendlier. But that doesn’t make the finish line easy. Getting there takes extensive, disciplined training, including plenty of mornings when the bed makes a very persuasive argument.
Here’s what the “we all have something impossible” idea can overlook: the thing that looks impossible from the outside is almost always the result of practice, training, and discipline on the inside.
That’s worth repeating, because it changes how you look at everyone else’s accomplishments. The marathoner, the author, the person who finally paid off their student loans? None of them started as the finished version. They started as someone who didn’t know how to begin, which, funny enough, may be exactly where you are right now.
The Impossible Things You’re Already Doing
The Ironman is a great personal example, but this applies everywhere. Take the professional pillar. Think about the colleague who strolls into a packed room and delivers a presentation like it’s a chat with friends. To someone who gets sweaty palms ordering a latte, that looks like magic. It isn’t. Behind it are countless rough drafts, shaky first attempts, and jokes that landed with all the energy of a wet sock.
Now consider purpose. Someone who builds a food pantry, a mentoring program, or a nonprofit from scratch looks fearless from the outside. Up close, it’s the first phone call, the first meeting attended by three people, and the fifth email nobody answered. Small, unglamorous steps, repeated until the thing exists.
How to Achieve Your Goals When You’re Not There Yet
Maybe you’re thinking, “That’s lovely, but I don’t have anything someone else would call impossible.” I have two things to say about that.
First, you don’t know what other people think. You can’t see who admires your courage or your skills. Someone may be quietly watching you handle something hard and wondering, “How do you do that?”
Second, it’s possible to get there, because it comes down to practice and discipline. If you want to be an Ironman, you can devote yourself to the training your body and mind need to hold up under that strain. The same goes for the keynote, the food pantry, or anything else on your list. Whatever you want to accomplish is possible with the right training and practice.
That’s where goal setting earns its keep. A goal without a training plan is just a wish with good branding. Breaking a big goal into weekly actions helps you build discipline, and discipline is what carries you after the excitement fades. Anyone can stay motivated on day one. Weekly planning is what gets you through week twelve.
Start small. If your goal is a keynote, schedule one five-minute talk. If it’s a food pantry, make one phone call this week. Ironman athletes don’t begin with 140.6 miles. They begin with a swim that leaves them questioning every life choice, and then they get back in the pool.
The Real Question
So the question isn’t whether you’re capable. It’s how badly you want it, and whether you’re willing to put in the effort.
If you’re not sure where to start, I’m happy to help. Schedule a 20-minute strategy call and we’ll map out your next steps toward achieving your goals.
Ready to turn “impossible” into “scheduled”? Sign up for my weekly newsletter and download the Sunday Strategy worksheet and guide, a simple way to plan your week around the goals that matter most.