It seems unwise to chase after unrealistic goals. However there are many good reasons to do just that, and I have listed 7 below.

You may already have this ‘mad’ idea/ dream/ goal that you want to go for. It may seem way too big, actually daunting, it scares you a little, and you wonder what other people may think if they knew.

On the other hand, maybe you believe we should strive for what we know we can achieve. If you have tried that but find progress slow and motivation low, this article is for you, too. 

Read on, let me convince you:

Work expands to fill the period of time available for its completion. (1)

This observation is called Parkinson’s Law and often mentioned in the field of productivity. So, if you give yourself genuine deadlines of half the time you’d usually allot to a task, you will be amazed that you get more than half the task done in it! (There is such a thing as ‘too little time’ though.)

Following this line of thought, we can assume that your realistic goals can actually be achieved much faster than in the time you originally set yourself. Does this make your goal a little less unrealistic already?

‘Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.’

Confession: I can’t stand this quote by Norman Vincent Peale. The message is good, though, and it made this list because I have yet to find a better phrasing for it. 

The idea is simple: If you aim for something great and fail, you will still have achieved more than if you never tried. 

Say you want to travel the world for a year in 6 months time, but you have no savings. So you get your spending in order, get a great overview of your finances, prioritise like a boss and take on a second job to grow your bank account. You’re motivated, you’re excited, and in your spare time you read travel guides in the library and online to plan your trip. 

Then you realise that you can’t actually save enough on time, but 

• You could leave 4 months later or
• Travel the world for 8 months or
• Sleep in dorms more often or
• Change your destinations to cheaper countries.

That may not have been your original plan and can be disappointing for a moment. Nevertheless, you will still have an amazing trip and see a lot more of the world than if you had never even tried in the first place. ‘Shooting for the moon’ will have made you save more and work harder than if you had only set out to do an 8 month trip, because you knew it would take all your efforts! Shooting for ‘achievable’ never pushed anyone to greatness yet. 

As you strive for the goal you grow as a person

As you strive for the goal you grow as a person, therefore tomorrow you are capable of more than today. 

For example, you may set out to become very good at creating elaborate pottery pieces, and want to win the annual local pottery competition. All you have accomplished so far is a wobbly trinket holder – which is beautiful in its own right! Your goal seems like a stretch, doesn’t it? However, assuming you practise regularly and educate yourself about methods and tools, a few months from now you would be far more experienced. Winning the competition would already be much less unlikely. 

Setting yourself targets beyond your current capabilities usually means you get to grow and learn along the way. This can actually be the most interesting part of it!

More challenging means you will work harder to achieve it 

This is where motivation is born and bred. You might notice this at work or at home sometimes: On days when there is nothing much to be done, the wonderfully slow ones, a new task takes much more effort and willpower to complete. If the same task came up on days that are busier, you’d knock it out of the park by the by.

This speaks to the idea that it’s easier to move faster when you’re already in motion. It’s also rooted in knowing that on a slow day, you could do the task aaaaaany time, versus on a busy day you know you need to work harder to still achieve everything. The lack of challenge and demand means we are disproportionately more likely to not complete the task in the end.

You’ll be so much prouder when you actually achieve it

Can you picture it? Having proven to yourself that you can do it, astonishing all those who ever doubted you (the fools)? 

Of course you can achieve the achievable goal. But this one you just accomplished? That’s something to get your favourite drink out about, take the afternoon off and buy yourself some flowers.

That feeling in your stomach when you’re excited to go after your goal but it also seems so audacious 

According to my mother, anticipation is the best kind of joy. Part of that is the “Oh my god am I really doing this?” -thought that only comes with unrealistic and daring plans. It’s a great feeling that can lift you up: the good kind of fear. 

You may be tempted to avoid any fear, since the word has a very negative connotation. Naturally, sometimes we are scared of things that genuinely threaten our wellbeing or safety, or that of others. Other times, fear indicates that you get to leave your comfort zone in order to grow and achieve something new. 

It sometimes requires some uncomfortable honesty with yourself to tell one from the other, but you will be able to. Once you know this is growing fear and excitement you are feeling: Revel in it, because something great might just be about to happen. 

If you can achieve that – what else could you do?  

This type of goal can open your mind to ideas and opportunities you can’t even imagine yet. It is not about a lack of ambition or creativity. Just like your skills, your scope and experience will expand as you work towards your finish line. 

You don’t know what 1-year-from-now-you will know. They say when one door closes another one opens – but what if you ascend into a whole new building floor? You may already know that there are doors on it, but what kind and where they lead you can only discover when you get there.

In the end, your goals don’t have to be unrealistic to be worthwhile. The only important thing is that you go and make it happen. 

If you don’t know where to start with your money-related goal: Read some of my other articles or schedule a chat!

If you never even try, you know you won’t succeed. Pick any of the other options, follow it with gusto and an open mind, and watch where it takes you. 

Tell me – what’s your unrealistic goal?

References:  Lifehack.org, (updated February 24, 2023) How to use Parkinson’s Law to get more done in less time, Available at: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/how-to-use-parkinsons-law-to-your-advantage.html (accessed 05/03/2023)