Stop Moving Your Goal Posts

The best feeling during a race is crossing the finish line. And that climax is giving it all you got right to the end.

Cranking your legs just a bit harder. Pumping your arms. Whatever propels you faster.

A nightmare would be kicking hard to smash that finish only to find the finish line keeps moving just out of reach. Almost there, but always further.

In that nightmare, some would just give up. Despair.

But not you. Not me. We get harder on ourselves. Feel like we’re doing something wrong. Failure.

But it’s not even close to reality.

The word I hear in my head a lot is, “Idiot!” What about you? Whatever it is —

IT.

ISN’T.

TRUTH.

A lot of that burden of achievement gets boiled down to expectations. I expect that it will turn out some certain way. That when I reach that goal it will be like XYZ.

Often it’s not even explicit. It’s just something subconscious I haven’t even realized.

But also, a lot of it is me moving the goal post.

For example, in years past, waking up around 7 was fairly standard for me. Last year I began waking up at 6. But then I felt like I could do better. I need to be up at 5. And then it became, I get so much more done when I’m up at 4. And suddenly waking up at 6 is failure.

We do this with so many things. Whether it’s that bonus, or number of followers, likes, promotions, sales.

Most of these measures are really meaningless at the end of the day. What counts is growing. Maturing and sharing life with everyone you encounter.

We need to count the wins along the way. We need to learn to celebrate.

Not as a way to hide in the past or numb ourselves with nostalgia. Not to stagnate. Not an excuse to get stuck in the status quo.

To recognize when you’ve grown and count that win. To recognize if and when it’s time to set the new goal post.

To take a moment to linger and savor your wins, which will set you up to propel forward.