Come with me and you'll be
In a world of pure imagination
Take a look and you'll see
Into your imagination
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Gene Wilder)
I think, sometimes, we all get bogged down as we reach for that goal, the thing we crave more than any other.
It’s hard. We want it so much, but there is such a lot to do. Or there is the one BIG thing that has to be done to unlock everything else. Perhaps there are several HUGE things that all feel daunting on their own, let alone when you put them all together.
So the goal, that ONE thing, feels out of reach.
It can feel as though it is defined by the impossible hurdle or the wall we have built around it.
It comes up during Encouragement Sessions* all the time. How do we find that specific key, to a particular lock near the top of a door we can’t reach, a door that is bolted from the inside (okay, I’m stretching the metaphor - we just make the thing we want to achieve too specific and we get downhearted when it doesn’t happen for us).
* If you haven’t heard of the Encouragement Sessions yet, I’ll pop a link below to a piece that explains everything. For now, just imagine an hour-long mentoring meeting on a Zoom call with someone who is bubbling over with enthusiasm.
There might be another way.
What about if we zoomed out a bit?
Well, maybe more than just a bit.
Let’s call it effects-based planning.
Where was it Willy Wonka was taking us when he sang ‘Pure Imagination’?
Hold your breath
Make a wish
Count to three
Instead of
I am going to write a novel by the end of the year
let’s try
I want to live a life of words, a life as a writer
Instead of
I’m going to grow my subscriptions by 1000 by the end of December 2024
perhaps we could try this for size
I am going to build a loyal audience of readers, who celebrate what I do, and tell other people about it.
Instead of
I wish I could leave my job and write full-time
maybe we could start with
Over the next 3 years, I am going to work with my employers to change the balance. It would be good to keep the stability of regular paid work, but I am going to increase the amount of time I commit to my creative practice.
Could you look at your aims and goals for this year and ease some of the pressure you are feeling by describing them in ‘big handfuls’?
We would love to hear from you in the comments.
I’m just discovering your publication and I find it really refreshing to find this type of advice on a topic that normally recommends to be as concrete as possible. I appreciate the ease and joy of refocusing on the value (or outcome) and not so much on the number (the metric).
On a professional context, I’ve been using a mental model with my teams with great results: Goals and Objectives. Goals follows your advice, whereas Objectives, almost by definition must be concrete. I use them according to each case, and i’m happy to say that goals work good for Product and Business development too.
P.S.: Not entirely related but reminded me of “calm technology”. May be of your interest too.
"Over the next 3 years, I am going to work with my employers to change the balance. It would be good to keep the stability of regular paid work, but I am going to increase the amount of time I commit to my creative practice."
Thanks for this. When I began writing my newsletter, I was so hellbent on finding a quick way out of the 9-5 life, that the pressure involved actually took a lot of enjoyment out of enjoying the process itself... and when you find yourself in that position, what's the point?
I love this "big handful" approach. It's a gentle reminder that the journey can (and should) be so much more gratifying than the endgame itself.