When in the twenties we often hear phrases like, think big and aim for the moon by our family and friends. But we should know exactly when we should have high expectations and when a big goal can shoot you on the foot.
High expectations
A Harvard professor conducted a research. A special test which was given a fancy name was organized to find out which students will develop high IQ in future. 18 elementary school teachers conducted this exam on their students. But it was just a normal IQ test, but even the teachers did not know about it. After the exam the professor picked up random students from each class and told the teachers that these kids had potential to bloom. But in reality here was nothing special about these students.
After a few months another set of IQ test was given to these kids and it was found that the bloomers performed exceptionally well this time. Though these kids were actually average. Researchers found that the teachers gave more attention and inspiration to them and that’s why in the second test they performed well. It was concluded that when teachers treated some students as if they were to excel in life later then these students actually became smart.
This experiment proved how the high expectation can change our lives. But if someone is not chosen as the bloomer, so will they live in mediocrity. No.
There was two other interesting outcome of the experiment. Though the identified bloomers improved more but the others also improved. Though support helps you to push towards success but without that also you can make it. The second finding was that it helped more among the younger students than the older ones. As kids grow old, their own expectation about them is more powerful than others expectations.
So now the question arises as to what are you expecting out of yourself?
It is not that you reach your full potential by chance, but by making an effort towards the destination which you consider beyond you. Most of us settle for average goals because we think that it is reasonable and within our reach. For this reason they get stuck at those levels. As more people keep average goals so there is more competition for things that are not worth trying. If you try for something extraordinary then you will find few people trying for it. So technically if you make the requisite effort then you might make it.
But not every goal should be unreasonable.
Our focus should be on small wins and building daily habits. If you are trying something new then you should spend time on building repeatable daily habits. Focus on building a strong identity for yourself as this is the groundwork for better results later on in life. Setting extreme goals will not work unless we develop these small habits.
What does an unreasonable goal look like? My friend loves animal so for her next birthday I planned a surprise for her. I knew someone in the zoo and convinced him to allow her to feed the tiger, though under his supervision. So when the birthday came I took her to the zoo for a day out and gave her the surprise.
When you are trying to achieve something big then always appreciate how far you have come. Many people when they fail in a big endeavor then they often feel depressed. They fail to appreciate that they had made progress but could not complete it. When you aim high and fail then you don’t fail completely. You are still better than from where you started the journey.
When you have set a high goal for yourself and reach only half way, you are still ahead of if you had selected a small goal and reached it. Though in the first case you may be a failure but you have actually covered more ‘life’ distance.
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