I have so loved sharing my mini-resolutions with you all for the last few weeks. Whether it’s making a phone call I’ve been putting off or upgrading my family’s dinnertime conversation, I’ve found that focusing on one simple thing at a time really takes the pressure off while still helping me feel productive.
So far I’ve set mini-resolutions having to do with myself, my home, and my family. This week, I’m concentrating on work and passions. To me, that means both paid work and unpaid work – including the work of raising kids and running a household – as well as hobbies that inspire us or maybe aspirations that are currently just fantasies and could use a little nurturing to sprout. I encourage you to focus on your work and your passions this week and make some mini-resolutions with me!
In early January I posted about author and life coach Martha Beck’s advice that we embrace Wildly Improbable Goals (WIGs) – that once you put a goal, no matter how far-fetched it seems, out there, things happen. Friends and acquaintances help push you in the direction you want to go. You feel more accountable. The Wildly Improbable Goal just feels more…probable. Even if you don’t end up actually meeting that specific WIG quickly, you may find that setting the goal moves you much more quickly in that direction than you thought.
For example, in early 2011 I set the Wildly Improbable Goal of starring in my own TV show. Well, no, that didn’t happen within a year, but I was on national TV, started dabbling in producing videos at home, and came up with a Big Idea involving video that I’m working on now and hope to launch this spring. And I believe it all started with naming that WIG.
Whether it’s your professional life, education, or concentrating on the work of home and family, I think most of us have a big dream or two hidden away. Maybe we don’t want to share it because it seems crazily ambitious, or we’re worried people will think it’s silly. So I’ll go first: my 2012 Wildly Improbable Goal is to get on the New York Times bestseller list. Writing that out makes me feel slightly nauseous, so I’m pretty sure I’m on the right path.
Do you have a Wildly Improbable Goal – for this year or something longer-term, when the kids are older? Please share – anonymously if you prefer!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes! I set a WIG (although I didn’t know of Martha Beck’s idea) a week or so ago. I set the goal to swim across the largest lake in Idaho in August. 1.76 miles of deep and cold open water swimming.
I can’t really swim.
Wildly Improbable? Heck yes!
Did I go to the pool for the last week and put in hours learning? Yes! Did I learn to swim freestyle? Yes!
Am I much closer to my goal now? Yes!
Did my friend invite me to the pool and video my swim stroke to help me? Yes!
Did another friend invite me to a coached group swim this week? Yes!
Did YET another friend meet me at the pool to work on our swimming? Yes!
Did lots more people commit to doing the swim with me in August? Yes.
It is true. People want to see other people do wildly improbable things because it gives them hope for their own lives and they LOVE joining in the process.
Sorry for the longest comment ever but this is such an important topic to me.
My 2012 WIG is to run the NYC Marathon! Considering I just started running in August and so far my longest run is 5 miles and I run sloooooowly, oh and let’s not forget that it’s a lottery where I have roughly a 10% chance of getting in…it fits the Wildly Improbable part
BUT…I now run 3-4 times per week, have met amazing mentors, and have signed up for a half-marathon in March – so it has definitely created momentum that’s spilling over into other areas of my life.
First, I just have to say that I’m so tired right now (stomach flu making rounds at our house…) that I initially read your post title as “making some wildly improbably goats” and I thought, Whaaa???
But my WIG for the year is to have my very own Paper Chef studio that is not in my house, so that I can spread out my crafting space, offer classes, create with my elbows out, and not worry about how much space I’m taking up in one of our two closets.
And for the practical. There are two retail spaces available in my neighborhood, either of which would be fine, but the money to pay for such a thing seems extravagant and wasteful right now since my business doesn’t yet pay for itself and all our children are under five. Someday, maybe!!
So, you know how Martha Beck also says you’ll begin to notice “coincidences” once you start really following your own path? The mere fact that you mention her here, along with her idea, is one of those for me. You’ve been instrumental in helping me name my WIG for this year: I’d like to be published in 2-5 more national magazines. xo -KKM
My WIG is to win a major writing competition that includes a 2-week writing residency as part of the prize. And I am going to start working on a book. Whew! Did I say that out loud??
To start and finish every science course in the biology program at nearby community college. Made even more difficult because I need to pass a math proficiency test to begin and I’m pretty weak in the basics in spite of another degree.
Ack. Saying it out loud makes it seem silly and impractical!
I really believe in setting these type of goals for myself, for organizations and for communities! If we don’t believe that our dreams can come true, then we would never take the first step, getting no where.
A couple of years ago I told myself I want to be a writer (I was scared to death of writing), so I started a blog to force myself to write. Now my goal is to finish writing a book this year. Not realistic or practical, but hey! I took the first couple steps, and now I’m writing regularly for it
such great advise. Goodluck to everyone, it’s fun to read about everyone’s “unrealistic” dreams/goals!
My goal is to start sewing and designing clothes for me and my 2 kids… and possibly some home stuff. I always had a passion for this , but either fear or trying to be a perfectionist got in the way.