As I talk about setting goals for the New Year, I get a lot of questions like these: \u201cHow do I know if I\u2019m being too aggressive with my goals? How do I know if my goals are realistic?\u201d<\/p>\n\n
If you\u2019re asking these questions, you\u2019re already on the right track. Why? Because you\u2019re already talking about goals you suspect, assume, or know will stretch you.<\/p>\n
I like to answer these sorts of questions by finding out where someone\u2019s goals relate to three different zones. I use this same technique when evaluating my own goals.<\/p>\n
For a goal to matter, it has to stretch us. That means that it has to stand somewhere outside our comfort zone. If you know exactly how to attain the goal, it\u2019s probably not far enough.<\/p>\n
I recently watched a documentary<\/a> about amateur ultra marathoners who were running a thousand kilometers across four different deserts. One of the runners who had done only a few small races before decided to sign up.<\/p>\n What\u2019s instructive is why. He\u2019d never done anything like that before, he said, but he knew he\u2019d figure it out once he committed.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying you need to sign up to run hundreds of miles in four of world\u2019s most inhospitable places. But if you have all the financial, emotional, and physical resources you need right now to accomplish your goal, it\u2019s probably not challenging enough to be compelling.<\/p>\n