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The Invisible Fence of Limits

Posted by Stephanie Robertson on March 11th, 2010

There is an obscure line between setting specific goals and creating self-imposed limitations. I recently engaged in an intriguing business conversation with a good friend when he suddenly said “Stephanie, take the limits off.” This suggestion was very random and was not connected to the flow of the conversation. My initial reaction was “What is he talking about? Limitations, I am the last one to impose limits. I teach people how to free themselves of limits.” In the midst of my rationale I glanced over to my dry erase board where, only minutes earlier, I had written down my 5 goals for the month. Each goal was assigned a numeric expectation. My reasoning was I wanted to be specific about what I wanted to accomplish. Here’s my original goal list for January 2010.

Gain 20 social networking friends and followers.
Gain 5 new clients.
Earn $8,500 in client revenue.
Attend 5 networking events.
Volunteer 10 community hours.

The problem

When I created the list I was excited that I was being specific about my intentions. This is what most leaders of motivation encourage. It worked all these years until now. Here’s the problem. Once I reached my goals one by one, I would then shift my focus to another unattained goal. I was satisfied in reaching the goal and marked it off as an accomplishment. I would then tentatively abandon the goal leaving it on my mental shelf to collect dust. I would only re-evaluate its importance when it was relevant.

The example

For instance, if I set a goal to earn $7,500 in client revenue for the month of August and accomplished this goal by August 5 then I would move on to another goal. I would not deliberately stop trying to earn money, but the tenacity in which I pursued it would change. On occasion I have to cancel a contract and issue a partial refund. This is the cost of doing good business. If this occurred then I would scramble to recover the money before month’s end. I was not allowing room for growth nor was I planning for the unexpected.

What I learned

After the conversation I reflected on the methods in which my specific goals and invisible limits were blurred. I recounted many times in which this occurred. I now realized I could have gone further, earlier. From pen to paper it was necessary to author my goals with specific intentions. Once I developed a habit of goal achievement then I subconsciously used my sketched intention to suppress my purpose. I did not go further. I raised the bar to an attainable level instead of a level that pressed my passion and nurtured my drive. My responsibility to do more was obscured by my self-imposed measurements. The success I had achieved was not variably different than my expectation. No wonder I am not the internationally known Career Consulting Queen. Now it makes sense. When your goal surpasses your expectation, still aligning with the strengths of your talents, it is then that you have succeeded.

My revised January 2010 goals

Heighten visible interest of friends and followers on social networking channels.
Significantly boost client relationships, thus resulting in remarkable profit margins.
Welcome multiple opportunities to cultivate value-based relationships during business networking and impromptu social events.
Earn continuous streams of revenue through proprietary ventures and relationships.
Increase stewardship in my community to influence the quality of life for others.

Stephanie’s Nuggets on Goals

The value is in the quality of the goal, not the specification of the goal.
Numbers serve as proof; growth serves as validation.
Your goals reflect where you want to be not where you are. If you set goals that are in direct proportion with who you currently are then you have no opportunity to grow. Goals are exact measurements of your growth on your journey to achieve your dreams. The lower the limbo bar the further down to the ground you must go.
Do not discount specifics, but don’t dream by them either.
Goals are continuous. The pursuit of them never ends.

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