Failure to Apply

I've met and worked with thousands of people throughout my career. I've had many conversations about goals and future plans within the organization as well as life after. 

I've found many people have big plans for the future, but often settle for less than what they really want. Goals tend to be one step below achieving greatness. While I agree not everyone can be great, few reach the top 5% of society, many people underestimate their own abilities. 

I’ve learned people are their own biggest reason for not achieving their goals. As we look at the world around us, we tend to compare ourselves to all the greats. The people who have achieved the loftiest of goals and successfully pursued their dreams. We read about and see countless examples of people living lives we aspire to. The problem with this comparison, is we aren’t those people.

We don’t often see the hard work it takes to get to the highest places. We underestimate the amount of luck and undervalue the risks taken by people we think have it all. The truth is, we aren’t likely to achieve all the same things others have. Those people we watch from a distance aren’t the rule, they’re the exception. The biggest difference between most of us and them however, is they took risks. They put themselves out there while we sit safely behind our walls.

Many people will not graduate from college for one reason only; they won’t submit an application. I believe most people tend to take themselves out of the competition before they even enter it. We have a tendency to self-disqualification, a defeatist attitude that holds us back. We didn’t apply to Yale, Princeton, MIT, because we “knew we wouldn’t get in.” We remove the possibility of reward to spare ourselves the risk of failure.

While there are certainly things we don’t qualify for, the reality is only the bravest (or most narccississtic) among us will find out the truth. We will never get accepted if we don't put in the work and apply. Sometimes, applying is all it takes because everyone else is thinking the same way and didn't. Simply putting in the application, asking for that job, stepping into the ring is the most important step. The first step starts us down the path to accomplishing our goals.

New Year's Resolutions; Attempts Made by the Undisciplined

I'm not a fan of New Year's Resolutions. Personally, I find them to be cheap, insincere, excuses.

If you want to change something about yourself, just do it. Stop waiting. Don't use the calendar as an excuse to put off something that you want to do. We are given 365 days a year to make decisions about who we are and who we want to be. If you're willing to completely ignore 364 of those days (364 opportunities to change), then do you honestly believe that you are going to change yourself on day one, simply because the year changes? I don't think so.

Donald Sensing talks about this particular issue as well in a post last month. I personally agree with him and think that his points are valid. I want to bring up some other thoughts as well though.

If you have goals, go after them. Don't wait. By establishing New Year's Resolutions, you are essentially making as many as 364 daily decisions NOT to make yourself better. Why then, after creating a habit of NOT making yourself better, do you expect that you are suddenly going to stick with a new habit and be a better you? It just doesn't make any sense to me.

Now, for some help in bettering yourself.

1. Set goals. Think BIG picture. What is the desired end-state for you? Where do you want to be? Now, with that in mind, when do you want to have this goal accomplished? Once you've answered those questions, you are ready to begin.

2. Set "micro-goals." Now that you've established the long-term goal, think through all the steps that it is going to take to get there and put dates to each of those micro goals, working backwards, each building on the previous, to accomplish your over-all desired goal.

3. Start today, not in 2016!

Here is an example.

Goal: I want to have my Master's degree in X. I want to graduate with the class of 2018. It will cost me $$$$$
Micro-goals:
1. I must enroll in grad classes in the fall of 2016. I must have saved $$$$.
2. I must submit my applications in the spring of 2016. I must have saved $$$.
3. I must take GRE/GMAT/other required measurement in the fall of 2015. I must have saved $$.
4. I must start studying for the GRE/GMAT/other required measurement in the summer of 2015. I must have saved $.
5. I must start saving for tuition today!

This is a pretty simple, rudimentary example. If you have larger goals (I want to be a Doctor, a Lawyer, an Astronaut), it will require more thought, probably more time, and plenty of dedication.

My point is this, if you don't like something about yourself, don't wait to change...change now.