Have you ever set an impossible goal? Something that seemed so far out of reach that it could never happen? Three months ago, I set 2 impossible goals. I never would’ve believed the outcome of this exercise would be so amazing. 
Why set impossible goals?
What is the purpose of setting a goal that is impossible to achieve? If I can’t make it happen, why would I set it as a goal? I mean, it isn’t a SMART goal if it is nearly unattainable, right?
My life coach encourages me to set impossible goals for essential growth. The advantages of these kinds of lofty goals are to:
- Stretch your brain
- Think outside the norm
- Reach for things that are uncomfortable
- Ask when it might be a no (but what if it is a ‘yes’!)
- To open up our mind to the possibilities
- Get good at experiencing failure (because it hangs out in the same space as success)
What if I fail reaching impossible goals?
Usually, an impossible goal is just that… Impossible! To succeed in any venture, you need to have failures along the way.
Thomas Edison said he didn’t fail 1,000 times to make the lightbulb. He said there were 1,000 steps to creating the working light bulb.
When we fail, we learn that failing is ok. We survive. Our worth is still intact, even though we feared failure. We are stronger mentally to try again when we accept and allow failure. 
When do we celebrate our impossible goals?
But sometimes, we reach impossible goals and that is more than would’ve been possible if we hadn’t set those lofty goals.
In March 2018, I set 2 impossible goals. One was to get a sponsorship on my blog. The other was to ‘go live’ with my Life Coach. I was thinking an interview on Instagram or Facebook.
My brain panicked, telling me how impossible and ridiculous they were. But I told myself to settle down. I reassured myself, it was going to be ok to fail.
But you know what? I didn’t fail!
Both of those ‘impossible’ goals actually happened, because I was willing to put a little effort in.
You can see my sponsored blog post here.
And I did a one-on-one coaching session with my life coach. She was planning on publishing it on her podcast Better Than Happy, but it didn’t end up being what she wanted. I’ll still call it a win that I got one-on-one time with her.
I didn’t know how it would happen and I even felt convinced it would not happen! But because I set the goal, I reached out and tried. When opportunities came, I jumped on them. I didn’t let fear hold me back from asking. And in both cases, it was a yes!
In light of these accomplishments, I decided to set a few more impossible or lofty goals for this summer. Some are in my control and are more of a bucket list, but others feel like impossible goals. See my Kids Summer Bucketlist here.
My list of Impossible Goals for Summer 2018
- Fly around the World
- Swim in a pond, a lake, a river and an ocean
- Visit 10 different Children’s museums
- Get wet at 10 splash pads.
- Complete the library’s summer reading program
- Hike in all 5 National Parks in Utah
- Run a 1/2 Marathon under 1:40
- Rent and Drive an RV
- Publish Video on my blog weekly
- Be on the news or a popular podcast or radio
- Get 500 Subscribers on my blog
I think I will fail. That’s ok. I can handle failure.
But I also think I will reach further and expand my horizons. I think some are highly possible.
Putting these out for the public to read feels vulnerable and scary. It’s hard to fail. It’s even harder when others know you failed. But I’m confident that I can do hard things.
What impossible goals do you have this summer?
Share in the comments! I’d love to hear them!
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