Setting An Impossible Goal

I’m not here to sell Sugar Bear Hair vitamins or Fit Fab Fun boxes like the girls who go on The Bachelor do when they become “Influencers.”

 

I’m here to write because that’s my dream, and I’m here to help people through my writing because that’s what I love.

 

Gosh, just like my Dicksand post, I have SO MUCH TO SAY on this topic. I’m gonna do my best without going overboard here.

 

My goal for the next month is to hit 25,000 sessions on my blog so that I can apply for MediaVine. (It’s a way to monetize, and it brings in more money than Google Ad Sense for example.)

 

Blogging isn’t free (at least not the way I do it). I pay for my domain, hosting, email marketing platform, stock photos, etc. If you’re interested in learning more about that, you can check out this post.

 

My highest month so far has been about 6,000 sessions. (That was last month.)

 

I need to go from 6,000 sessions to 25,000, and I want to do it this month (mid Feb-mid March). Let’s say by March 20. There, I set a date! I know that is a big jump. Some might even say that it’s IMPOSSIBLE…at least impossible to do it in that short amount of time.

 

BUT

 

That’s the point.

 

It’s an IMPOSSIBLE goal on purpose.

 

What is the point of setting goals anyway?

 

I used to think that the point of setting goals was to achieve them. You’re probably nodding along in agreement…like DUH.

 

In 7th grade, I would set goals like “Get an A” because it was a goal I knew I could achieve. No failure here!

 

It’s because I’m a perfectionist, and perfectionists have this story of “I’m not good enough.” We avoid trying new things because we might find evidence that proves the “I’m not good enough” story true.

 

We don’t set clear goals (or we spread ourselves too thin), and we withhold effort. “I could have reached that goal, but I was too busy trying to focus on x, y, and z at the same time.” We protect our “potential.”

 

We do these things because we’re operating from a Fixed Mindset rather than a Growth Mindset. Whew. I told you I have a lot to say on this topic. That’s just the tip of the iceberg my friends.

 

If you’re interested in learning more about mindset, I suggest you pick up a copy of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Dr. Carol Dweck. I’m still going through it, but it has been mind-blowing and eye opening. I will be writing more about it soon.

 

 

What if I told you that the point of setting goals IS NOT actually achieving that goal?

 

The main point of setting a goal is the growth you achieve along the way, to test your potential, and to see what you’re truly capable of. It’s the person you become along the way. It’s the lessons learned from obstacles overcome. It’s all of the skills and knowledge you pick up. It’s the people you meet and the experiences you have.

 

The satisfaction you experience in life doesn’t come from achieving goals (even though we’d like to think it does). The satisfaction comes from overcoming challenges, from climbing mountains. It does not come from standing at the top (although that’s pretty cool too).

 

Want more growth? Then you need a bigger goal.

 

 

So What Exactly Is An Impossible Goal?

I know you’re like, BUT you can’t possibly increase your blog sessions by 19,000 in just one month! Impossible!

Yes. Maybe. Again, that’s the point.

 

If you don’t think that you need a goal, then you should go and take a look at my first post on Goal Setting from last year. This post was featured in Blogosphere Magazine (the December issue). I flew out to London for a long weekend to attend the blogging festival too.

 

I have learned a lot since that first post on goal setting. So much of what I said still rings true for me, but I’m going about goal setting in a slightly different way now.

 

There are two types of goals that I have been learning about for a while now. (I told you I was super into personal development.)

 

The one I’m focusing on is the Impossible Goal because that’s where the most growth happens.

 

The point of setting an Impossible Goal is that it IS outside of the range of what you believe is possible. It is outside of your current reality. It is outside of your current belief system. If you want to see a different reality around you, you have to create it. To create it, you have to believe that things are possible that you cannot yet see.

 

I know. It’s confusing. It takes a while to wrap your brain around it.

 

My favorite line from The Santa Clause (you know the one with Tim Allen?) is when he is talking to the elf, Judy, the first time he is at the North Pole. She tells him that “Seeing is not believing. Believing is seeing.”

 

If you only SEE what you already believe, then you’re never going to SEE anything new.

 

You cannot see it because it’s not in your current reality, but if you believe it CAN BE then you can make it become your reality.

 

Don’t bring the goal down to your current level of belief. Raise your beliefs up to meet the goal. You’re going to have to become a different person to do it.

 

If you only ever set goals in the realm of what you believe is possible, then you’re never going to create a new reality.

 

It’s trippy stuff.

 

I have seen other bloggers get to and surpass 25k sessions/month. I know it’s possible. It just doesn’t feel like it’s possible for me.

 

An impossible goal is one where you don’t know HOW you’re going to do it. You don’t see the way, but (pretend like) your future self came back and told you that you make it there. So you keep pushing forward. You don’t know how you’re possibly going to do it, but it’s going to happen. You are forced to try different strategies, and yes, fail. This is something that is really tough for my perfectionist brain to come to terms with, but isn’t success built on a mountain of failures?

 

I don’t know how I’m going to do it. I have a lot of ideas to try (and I mean REALLY try without withholding effort).

 

My ideas include:

 

A Pinterest strategy. I did freelancing as a Pinterest Manager for clients in 2018. Pinterest brings in the majority of my blog traffic at the time of this writing.

 

Learning about and implementing SEO strategies, which includes writing for SEO, optimizing my site speed, etc.

 

Social Sharing (Facebook & Instagram)

 

Sending out more emails to my email list of almost 800 people. I’ve barely sent out any emails because I don’t want to “bug” people. I have been scared to send any because I don’t want people to unsubscribe. Now, I’m at the point where I’m like f*$@ it. What is the point of building an email list if I DON’T EMAIL THE PEOPLE ON THE LIST?!?!

 

I don’t know if that’s going to be enough, but I’m going to find out.

 

If it’s not enough, then I’ll come up with a new plan.

 

There’s a good chance that I’m not gonna make it to 25,000 sessions in a month. It feels impossible. So now I say, “Ok, so what? I’m gonna go for it anyway, and I’m gonna give it my all.” Maybe it’ll end up taking me longer than a month, but I know that if I don’t make it by 3/20/20 I will be a lot closer to 25k than if I just keep doing what I’m doing now.

 

I’ll be a heck of a lot closer to 25k than if I set a “realistic” goal.

 

I didn’t make up this concept of The Impossible Goal. I learned about it from Sam Laura Brown. (I have taken a few of her courses, and I am part of her membership community, “Perfectionists Getting Shit Done.”) She first learned about it from Brooke Castillo and her Life Coach School. Both women have excellent podcasts as well 🙂

 

 

So Why The Short Time Frame?

 

Time is a funny thing. There’s this theory about time that I have read about before. From my experience, I believe it to be true. The amount of time it takes you to complete a task/project/goal, will expand into the amount of time you give yourself.

 

If you give yourself 6 months, then it’ll take 6 months.

If you give yourself 3 months, then it’ll take 3 months.

If you have all day, then it’s going to take you ALL day.

 

Does that make sense?

 

Give yourself less time to do something, and you will be more productive.

 

I know that seems counter-intuitive again. You feel rushed. You feel like you never have enough time. You feel anxious when you’re not working, but to make more progress you have to set limits for yourself.

 

To better use the time you have, you have to give yourself less time per task.

 

It’s like in school when you procrastinated until the night before to finish (ok start and finish) that paper. Except when you’re outside of school in the real world, there is no deadline. So you have to set one for yourself.

 

I’m gonna have to hustle. There won’t be time to dwell on the failures. I will be trying strategies, and if one strategy fails then it’s on to the next.

 

 

My Impossible Goal

So 25,000/30 = breaks down into roughly 833 sessions/day.

But it doesn’t have to be linear growth. (Majority of the time, the growth won’t be linear no matter what your goal is.)

So yes, I need an average of 833 sessions/day, BUT I could get 5k sessions on the last day of the month. You just never know.

 

Here’s the breakdown.

First week = 2,000

Second week = 5,000

Third week = 8,000

Fourth week = 10,000

 

When the highest views I’ve ever had has been 6,000 in a month, 25,000 feels impossible.

My brain is like, NO. Not gonna happen. Impossible.

Ok, so maybe it’s impossible. I’m gonna try anyway.

I do not know the exact HOW. I do have some ideas though.

 

In addition to the strategies I mentioned above, I think I’m going to need to…

Write EVERYDAY (Even if it’s just a few sentences or paragraphs…I don’t need to write one blog post/day. This will help get me out of the all-or-nothing mindset.)

Be consistent…try to post at least 3 times a week (Both SEO and the Pinterest algorithms prioritize/reward new content)

Ask family, friends, followers, email list, etc for help.

Be ok with being imperfect.

 

Please know that this is all stuff I am STILL working on. I am, by no means, doing this stuff perfectly.

 

I’m Gonna Need Your Help

So if you enjoy my writing, then I am asking you for help. Asking for help is something that is usually incredibly hard for me to do. I’m a do it yourself kinda person.

 

I cannot do this without you. You can help by:

 

The number one thing is to click on my links and read my blog. It’s really that simple 🙂

 

Liking and commenting on Facebook and Instagram when I post. Both platforms have a similar algorithm. When you post, your post shows up in the feed of a select few of your followers. How those first people interact with your post determines whether or not your post is showed to a larger audience. So engaging with a post (liking, commenting, and sharing) signals to Facebook or Instagram that it is quality content that should reach more eyes.

 

Share a blog post of mine to your own audience. Only if you like it and feel inclined to share 🙂

 

Comment on the post on my website. 

 

Sign up for my email list, and click on my emails (and links) when I send them.

 

 

Follow me on Instagram. 

 

 

Pin my blog posts to Pinterest. (You can do this right from my site. I usually include a pinnable graphic at the end of each post. Hover and click and pin!)

 

That’s really it. Just help my posts get seen in the Facebook and Instagram feeds by engaging with them. Read my blog. Help me get the word out.

 

I’m putting it out there for everyone to see. Everyone might see me fail too. It’s scary, but it’s not going to hold me back anymore.

 

 

Is An Impossible Goal Right For You?

One day, you’re going to wake up and finally be so tired of your own shit.

 

You will have had enough, and you will realize that the one person who was standing in your way this whole time was you.

 

The pain of staying the same will finally be greater than the pain of change, and you’ll start moving.

 

You need a goal.

 

If you’re a perfectionist like me, this is going to be hard for you.

 

I really need to do an entire post on Perfectionism with all of the new insights I have learned over the past year (since writing my very first blog post on Perfectionism when I launched my blog in 2018!)

 

Pick one area of your life that you want to focus on. You already know what it is because you were thinking about it the whole time you were reading this post.

 

Just set a damn goal already. You can always change it later, but you need to put a destination in the GPS.

 

It’s tough. It’s so darn hard. I’m here to help and talk things out with you if you need it!

 

There will be more posts to follow with more info on everything I have learned (and am still learning).

 

As always, thank you for the support!

Alyssa

 

[Some of the links mentioned above may be affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission. It won’t cost you anything extra, and you’d be supporting my blog in the process – so thank you!]

 

If you liked it, then please take a second to put a pin on it 😉