I was talking about goals with my sister-in-law the other day and I really liked some of the terminology she shared from something she had recently listened to. A lot of times with our goals, we know the high we want to achieve. Maybe we want to work out everyday, and we envision an hour workout or a 3 mile jog. We know the high point we are reaching for. She referred to this as the goal ceiling. It is good to have a goal ceiling, it stretches us and helps us improve. But what about those days when you just aren’t feeling it? What if you are sick, or you were up all night with a baby, or feel sad or discouraged about a recent event? It is very unlikely that you’ll be hitting that goal ceiling on those days. That’s where the goal floor comes in. The goal floor is the minimum, the absolute minimum, step you can take toward your goal. Hitting goals and growing depends so much on consistency. Without a goal floor, it’s hard to get that consistency. On the days where we don’t feel like reaching for the stars, we decide to not reach at all…..unless you have a goal floor.
I have a goal of working out at least 3 times a week. Most weeks though, I hit 5 or 6 days because I have a goal floor. On the days where I feel motivated and want to reach for the stars, I will do an hour long class or run 3 miles at a fast pace. But I don’t feel crazy motivated every single day of my life. Sometimes I’m not feeling great, or I didn’t sleep well, or I’m sad. On those days, I reach for my goal floor instead of the stars. My goal floor is 10 minutes on the treadmill, running or jogging as slow as I want. My motivational state isn’t constant. There are days where I want to kill it and push myself hard, but there are also days where I want to take it easy. Recognizing and honoring that, by setting a goal floor, allows me to be consistent in working toward my goal regardless of how motivated I feel. What’s really interesting is how often I find myself initially aiming for the floor, but finding myself reaching just a little bit higher once I get started. When you can only reach for the ceiling, you’ll fail. It just isn’t realistic to think that your life and motivation will remain constant. So you will fail, and when you do, it can lead to all kinds of defeatist feelings. You might even feel like throwing your hands in the air and never trying again because you always fail. A goal floor helps with that. Allowing yourself to aim for a floor on the days where you are less motivated leads can lead to a continual feeling of achievement. You can have the satisfaction of reaching for a goal consistently without setting the bar at the same level everyday, ignoring the inevitable of fluctuating motivation.
I love looking at goals this way. Sometimes we are capable of taking a giant step forward, and other days, a little tiptoe or shuffle is perfectly acceptable. The objective is to continue to move in the direction you want to go.
Work In Progress 