Page 139 - Hard Goals

130 HARD Goals

• Did I already know everything I needed to know when I
started out, or did I have to learn new skills in order to
succeed?
• Was I completely worry free, or did I have a few doubts
or even some nervousness along the way?
• Was I totally relaxed throughout the process, or did I
get “amped up” (excited, alert, elevated heart rate, and
the like)?

So what did you just learn about yourself and your history with
HARD Goals? Personally, every noteworthy accomplishment
I’ve ever had was diffi cult. It was hard to do, demanded a lot
of effort, I had to learn new stuff, boy did I have moments of
worry, and yeah, I was totally amped up, so much so that all
that other stuff wasn’t nearly as threatening as it could have
been. And I’ve got a point of reference (as do you), because
obviously I’ve done millions of things that weren’t diffi cult (like
eating pizza or reading a book). I’ve also done lots of really dif-
fi cult things that weren’t particularly noteworthy (like watching
any movie with Ben Affl eck in it). But generally, when I look at
my biggest and most meaningful accomplishments, every one of
them required some serious work on my part.
I’ve asked these same questions of tens of thousands of
people, whether in our formal studies or just polling audience
members at my speaking engagements. And what I can tell you
is that overwhelmingly, most people’s greatest accomplishments
were diffi cult, required lots of effort, depended upon learning
new skills, caused some nervousness, and made their doers feel
“amped up” and excited. Just like mine.