I recently attended a professional conference where one of the speakers shared a personal goal setting experience that really resonated with me. Here’s her story:
She and her husband frequently fly to Scotland on Virgin Atlantic to visit family. It’s a long flight, and they’d never been able to afford to fly first class. So she thought, this a great financial goal - to grow the business enough to be able to afford to experience first class, even if it was just once. So she looked up first-class tickets to Scotland: $15,000. EACH. Her first reaction? That’s INSANE! We’ll never be able to afford that! And even if we could, I’d never spend that much! (At this point I thought, “I’d do the same exact thing. Go through the same thought process and end up talking myself out of it before even attempting it). When she realized she was creating obstacles/getting in her own way, she decided she'd "commit" by signing up for their newsletter. Her reasoning? Maybe Virgin would have a ridiculous sale one day and they’d be able to afford it.
Fast forward: She opened the newsletter and saw Virgin was having a sale - $1500/ticket. The dates available at the discounted rate worked with their schedule, so they bit the bullet and hit purchase. Fast forward again: They’re in the fancy-schmancy first-class lounge pre-flight, and she sees Richard Branson (the owner of Virgin). She's a bit star-struck, runs over, introduces herself and strikes up a conversation. Fast forward one last time: she and her husband are guests on Richard’s private island (yes, he owns an entire island). She finished up by showing a video of the three of them jumping off a 60-foot cliff into the ocean. Wow, right?!
Her whole point? None of this would happened if she’d talked herself out of paying $30,000 for two tickets to Scotland, if she refused to dream big. She set a crazy-high goal, kept an open mind, and it resulted in a completely amazing experience beyond her wildest imagination.
And it made me think about how many times I’ve talked myself out of things because they seemed too crazy, not really me, or I don’t know, fill in the blank. And it made me re-evaluate my current goals and set new ones.
How about you? Can you identify with thinking big and then talking yourself out of it before even attempting it? Her experience helped me to make some mental adjustments, reevaluate my goals, and commit to actually, fully committing myself. How about you? Can you relate? Are you willing to set an crazy goal? Are you ready to have an amazing experience?
