THe Art of Aiming for the Bottom

In a down economy, it is very easy to move from being Excellent to being “Good enough”. What is a “GOAL”? Do you set your goal as the bottom of the barrel or do you set your goal as the best of the best? Or are you setting minimum goals for yourself?
Over the last couple of months, I was in a BIGGEST LOSER COMPETITION. The winner was the person with the “highest percentage weight lost”. I knew that I was one of the heaviest contestants, so I would have to lose more weight than the lightest contestant. How should I set my goal?
One goal could be – WHAT IS THE MINIMUM WEIGHT LOST I WOULD ALLOW? This is setting the goal at the bottom of the barrel. I could drive all my energy to reach for a goal that is easily attainable – the “guarantied outcome”. However, this sets you up for the minimum effort. In a twelve week competition, this could be 12 pounds. A pound week is – “at least I am losing weight every week.” I see a lot of winners who have achieved nothing. To me, joining a competition is the chance to do something extraordinary.
A second goal could have been- WHAT IS THE MOST WEIGHT I COULD LOSE? This is the goal that is just out of reach. This is the goal that would even surprise you. In my case, I have not been below 200 pounds since college – and that is back in the 80’s. Now that would be a long haul. Setting to high of a goal can lead to frustration and quitting in the middle of the game.
The third goal is setting your goal to rise and fall with the tide – BEAT THE COMPETITON! If the competition is hard, I need to step up my game and work hard. If the competition is easy, then I can slack off. In a down economy this is very common. Most sales people are looking over their shoulder to see how the other sales people in the company are doing. As long as you are in the middle of the pack, you feel safe from being fired. In a down economy, most organizations start to slack off because they come up with more and more reasons why the “Sales Pack” isn’t doing well. The goals stop being a matter of Excellence and start being – “just as long as I’m not at the bottom of the barrel”. This is very dangerous because eventually the company doesn’t make enough money to pay the fixed cost.
My recommendation is to set all three goals. Manage your expectation. By working three different goals you can keep motivated and ease frustration. People want to help people who set strong goals. People want to celebrate with people who achieve minor goals on their ways to higher goals.
I ended up taking third place in the biggest loser competition. But I was a winner, I finally broke the 200 pound barrier on the last day. I could have quit after achieving my first goal. I could have quit after it was clear I wasn’t going to win the competition. But to be able to tell people I haven’t been this trim since Hall and Oates made it records makes me a winner.