Consistency and momentum are two powerful, related forces.

Both of these forces need to be harnessed when we’re in a process of achieving a big goal.

Successfully harnessing them in our move toward achievement requires us to first set realistic goals. If goals are set randomly without any basis in reality one is likely to fail … hard. This is demoralizing and will lead to a quick retreat and retreat is not consistent momentum.

Realistic goal setting is always hard but becomes especially difficult in business. We want to immediately shoot for the moon with our sales numbers and we have large imaginations when it comes to scale but if we’re working with someone with little to no experience we’re just inserting her into a broken process; a process that won’t work consistently and build momentum. We wouldn’t tell someone that never exercises to start running 10 miles per day for the next year. but we often place ourselves and our sales teams into unrealistic, pressurized vices of the same sort that just lead to failure.

Failure is probably inevitable but I argue that when it happens we ought to revaluate and give ourselves the ability to claw back on our expectations. If we’re failing it means we need to get stronger first. Easing back on goals doesn’t mean persisting with easy daily quotas forever, it means easing to a place of consistency and starting a process of continual daily improvement. We can’t get achieve continual daily improvement without consistency. Small, slow, steady growth over time is far better than retreat and atrophy.

Jeff Bezos shares a funny anecdote in his latest shareholder that relates to realistic expectations of scope:

A close friend recently decided to learn to do a perfect free-standing handstand. No leaning against a wall. Not for just a few seconds. Instagram good. She decided to start her journey by taking a handstand workshop at her yoga studio. She then practiced for a while but wasn’t getting the results she wanted. So, she hired a handstand coach. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, but evidently this is an actual thing that exists. In the very first lesson, the coach gave her some wonderful advice. “Most people,” he said, “think that if they work hard, they should be able to master a handstand in about two weeks. The reality is that it takes about six months of daily practice. If you think you should be able to do it in two weeks, you’re just going to end up quitting.” Unrealistic beliefs on scope – often hidden and undiscussed – kill high standards. To achieve high standards yourself or as part of a team, you need to form and proactively communicate realistic beliefs about how hard something is going to be – something this coach understood well.

In addition, one of the most powerful ideas, and drawings supporting this idea, in Dalio’s Principles is included below. It depicts a process of continual improvement. Here he refers to them as “Audacious Goals” and I’d argue that a “Learning Principle” is maybe, “Let’s be slightly less audacious right now to create momentum and have a process for ratcheting up audacity over time.”

The key thing is to stay in the game and create a virtuous cycle and if we don’t recalibrate because we’re too audacious with our goals, initially, we’ll never move up the ladder.

So, as a test, keep asking: How much will I have to do each day to achieve my longterm or annual goal? Am I able to realistically reliably hit that daily mark when I give it my best, good-faith effort? If yes, keep going. If not, reevaluate the size of the longterm goal and get it to a point where you know you can hit your personal daily quota towards it and revaluate your endurance and capacity every quarter.

Update: July 5, 2018

Peterson talks about setting goals against yourself and where you are NOW instead of comparing yourself to someone else far along around 55 minutes into this talk. Really good.

Update, Sept 14, 2018: 

Had YouTube on in the background and overhear Kevin O’Leary commenting on the importance of proper goal scale setting as well. Reminded me of this post.