Creative goals are when you set goals that are unique to you. They aren’t imposed on you by other people. Straight from your own mind and soul.
Though, this will sound very obvious, but the best goals are those that are achievable. This sounds all too obvious but it’s true.
Why set goals if you cannot ever reach them?
However, that’s not to say never to set goals with high aspirations. It means when you set a goal, make sure that you can take the steps to get there.
Which is the point of this article, change your framework.
Inches instead of Steps
In terms of reaching goals, steps & inches are the same thing. They are both units of measurements to assess the individual tasks that need to be completed in order to reach a goal.
But what is different, is one is a lot smaller than the other.
When you think of a step, the first thing that comes to mind, probably, is a staircase. We’ve all seen the infographic of the man walking up the steps to get to his goal.
Symbolising the goal process in a convenient way.
Yet inches may bring a different one to mind.
An inch is about the size of your thumb, from knuckle to tip. Which is a considerable difference from a flight of stairs.
Rather, you’ve now got an invisible line that you can follow. Not up or down, but straight ahead.
Al Pacino – Inches
Below is a great video where this idea came from (It wasn’t mine) and is quite motivational if you’re into that kind of thing.
Give it a watch and let me know how you felt. I have to say it is quite rousing.
But the point of the clip isn’t just one of a coach motivating a football team. It’s a metaphor for striving forwards to a goal, common or private.
It really hit me, this way of thinking, when he mentions that there are inches in front of your face. In fact there are many inches in front of your face at any given point.
Things like avoiding temptations or making a positive choice could be seen as an inch. And in this way, you stack inches just by ignoring intrusive thoughts.
Creative goals and A framework that lowers the bar
As from the introduction, creative goals are best when they’re achievable. Maybe the staircase analogy isn’t the right one for you.
It could be that putting one foot in front of the other is too hard.
Which is why the inches framework could be of more use. Think about it, there is about 30 inches in one step (Not sure if that number is an average). So before you’ve even made one step with the standard goal framework.
You make up to 30 with the inches. And because they’re so small, it can be the small wins. Like:
- Making the bed
- Meditating for 5 minutes
- Brushing your teeth
- Catching yourself with a negative thought
- 30 minutes less time gaming
Etc.
The above are all very easy tasks that can be done which technically get you to your goal. Let’s say you stop video games, that could be 5 or 6 steps up the goal staircase.
Yet, that’s over 150 individual micro steps you took to get there, with minimal effort, that you can then look back at and be proud of.
The more wins you can gather for yourself, the more momentum you create.
One pitfall to look out for
However, one pitfall that the inches framework has is underachieving.
Say you set your North Star, be able to travel the world and make money. But everyday you show up only meditating for 5 minutes or only knocking 30 minutes off of a 3 hour gaming session; you’ve got nowhere.
In and of itself, these are still wins. But it can’t be a win anymore if you could’ve done 6 minutes or 10! And with gaming, I said no to an hour of play time.
It’s common for humans to want to cheat themselves out of getting anywhere, nowadays anyway.
We like the dopamine of doing that one good thing in small doses. If not, remind me:
How long will it take to get to your North Star if the only positive habit you do is meditate for 5 minutes a day.
Sure, it adds up. But no steps were taken to the definite goal of travel money. You tricked yourself out of taking a real step.
Inches as false flags
Ultimately, you want to do many small steps that add up over time. That’s the point in this framework.
You make the barrier so low, that you literally trip yourself over it if you have to. At least that way you fail forwards.
Where you don’t want to end up is in this false flag relationship to yourself. It’s a very common trap for self improvers.
- First, you start out with a genuine desire to improve your lot in life
- Secondly, you learn all the tricks in the trade to make it better.
- Thirdly you implement them, gym, eating healthy, sunning your gonads, taking this or that supplement etc.
- Fourthly, you forget the reason you started in the first place, to become a digital nomad
- And finally, 2 years go by where you haven’t taken one step or 30 inches towards the original goal.
This mindset is just as bad as being unhealthy. In the end, both are copes to deal with the fact you’re going nowhere. But it felt good.
Disclaimer with self improvement.
By no means am I saying not to partake in a self improvement regiment.
What I really mean is start with the basics.
- Have a shower
- Groom yourself
- Find a gym routine you like
- Eat healthy
- Try to spend more time in nature.
Once you do these regularly, forget all the other tips and tricks.
Getting to your goal is going to be hard work. It will be like the trenches. At times you will be in no-man’s-land. It isn’t pleasant.
You soft and subtle hands that you tried so hard to get to, with that one skin care routine will be for naught.
Your balls may have been kissed by Sol (Ball sunning), but you haven’t changed out of your clothes for weeks (Metaphorically).
Self improvement becomes mental masturbation past the basics, if you’re not at your goal already.
Take the inches from the basics, which in themselves are 2 or 3 steps. To catapult yourself towards your true North Star.
Conclusion
Make sure that when you start towards a creative goal, you get all the inches possible.
Use these inches as momentum for your true goal, never getting bogged down with this or that self improvement tid bit.
And when you are chilling at the beach in Italy or wherever, then you can add in the optimisation.
The inches framework gets you started and will keep you going during low moments in life. But never worth forgetting that an inch is only an inch.
It will take thousands to get where you want to go. So when you are hitting 30 minute meditations or no video games at all, change the framework past inches and steps.
Change it to moving mountains or jumping miles. Whatever fires you up most.
As long as it keeps you moving forwards, then do whatever it takes.
I hope you enjoyed this one, it felt like it came from the heart. Let me know your thoughts below in the comments and share with others.
Have a blessed day and Good Weather ahead,
Soulsurfer.