Today is National Reach As High As You Can Day.  One question remains, how badly do you want it?

Our success always boils down to one truism: just how badly do we want it?  Our passions trump our fears. Always have, always will. Yet, why is it that so many of us who have giant dreams, fall short in the face of risk, failure, or just raw fear? How can we move beyond the surge of B12 we get when we hear a rousing motivational talk or watch an inspiring ‘can do’ movie?

A few thoughts to help us tap into our inner power AND sustain it until we reach our ultimate destination:

  1. Follow Simon Sinek’s advice: Know your Why. My dear friend and executive coach used to encourage me to tap into my ultimate desires by asking, “for the sake of what, am I doing this?!” Wow… that question forced me to really hone in on what drives me, what makes my heart sing AND how I ultimately want to contribute in the world. When the going gets tough, and I need to give my own dose of resiliency to pursue my dreams a B12 shot, re-visiting WHY I am pursuing what I am pursuing gives me the oomph I need to keep moving forward. Everyone’s ‘why’ will be different and unique to them – which is why it is so powerful. It comes from our deepest and most authentic desires – and thus, it cannot be snuffed out by obstacles and hurdles along our journey.
  2. Look the tiger in the eye. I believe that fear can either serve as a catalyst or a paralyzer. The choice is ours, and ours alone. We have to do the thing of which we are most afraid. When we do – we learn what lies within us. Truly, every great contribution in the world has come from an initial place of fear. Yet, those leaders have overcome their scariest situation – think Winston Churchill, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela – to name only a few. We, too, have the same ‘stuff’ that was within those giants… the secret is to tap into it!
  3. Get comfortable with ambiguity. Most of us do not like uncertainty or lack of clarity. As a ‘J’ on the Myers Briggs, I love knowing my objectives, and having a ‘to do’ list to mark off the steps I take toward my goals. Yet, we all know that this is never the entire picture. There will always be unforeseen variables, and challenges along our path. And, there will always be change. Nothing is permanent – nothing. Change is the constant. So, we have to comfortable with uncertainty and lean into those opportunities. If we don’t, we become stagnate by choosing to stay where we ‘know what we know’… which frankly can often create a reality far worse than the reality of moving into the unknown.
  4. Dream big – then take baby steps. We all know the adage ‘Rome was not built in a day’… well… neither are big dreams. It is easy to become intimidated by our dreams – especially those that are the BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals) of our lives. Yet, without a dream coupled with a PLAN (as a dream without a plan is just a wish), we will become stale and stagnate. I remember when I wanted to write my first book and I began to procrastinate because it seemed so daunting. Yet, my dear friend and editor, coached me to just write a few pages every single day. I followed her advice and before you knew it – I had 15 chapters written. The advice of breaking that big dream into bite-size actions helped me get there. The key was disciplined consistency… every single day.

So, net: anything we want always comes down to how badly we want it. If we want to lose those last 20 lbs… we have to really want it to enable us to say ‘no’ to that second helping or to say ‘yes’ to the 5am wake-up call to go workout. If we really want to have a large residual income for our retirement, we have to say ‘no’ to spending money on frivolous things, and say ‘yes’ to building a secondary income to augment our savings. Whatever our dreams and desires are – we can achieve them. The key is simply to summon our strength, courage, and discipline – and most importantly sustain our dreams by our inner most calling – our ‘why’. This indeed is the only way.

 

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