Chasing a goal

Have you every found yourself chasing a goal that doesn’t make much sense? Perhaps it’s a passion you dream of pursuing that isn’t “practical.” Or maybe you want to do something that takes more of an investment than you can afford right now. Or, it might feel even more nebulous … like a whisper or discontentment or a yearning that you can’t quite define.

I found myself in this position almost three years ago, when my job unexpectedly ended. I’d had a dream of writing in my heart, but it was such a vague dream. I didn’t have a set goal, just a sense that I wanted to write.

You may not realize you’re chasing a goal…

Sometimes when you begin to follow a passion, you haven’t yet named a goal. You may simply feel compelled to do something.

This is how it was for me. I began to write, not every day, but most days. I went to a writing conference, joined writing groups, took writing classes. And I started a blog.

Your longings may lead you to a goal

I wasn’t sure where I was going, exactly. But I began to take steady steps forward and slowly, I started calling myself a writer.

And the more I write, the more I want to write. My goal has grown clearer. I write to understand myself, but also to help others understand themselves. My goal now is to produce writing that helps women work less and be more, to live confident and authentic lives, doing what they love.

So how do you turn a dream into a goal?

I’ve been thinking a lot about my journey chasing this goal. And then, recently I set myself another goal — to stand up on a paddle board — and I discovered a few parallels.

Here’s a short story about my paddle board adventure and what I’ve learned about chasing a goal!

1. Pay attention to what looks fun

When you slow down and reflect, you begin to notice what looks fun to you. This is how my paddle board story began.

I enjoyed watching my husband quickly master paddle boarding. He swam competitively in high school and has an innate sense of balance and quick reactions. His first time, he stood up confidently — and then coaxed our yellow Labrador Maggie out with him. And my son in law joined in the fun, soon standing as well.

I had so much fun observing and documenting the action, taking photos and videos. And the fun grew! A couple weekends later, we laughed and encouraged my daughter and her boyfriend who were soon standing and paddling.

It looked like fun and I began to think about hopping on …

2. Don’t let fear hold you back

When you try anything for the first time, I guarantee you’ll face failure many times. Failure is part of the process of beginning. You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable as you navigate into something new.

We’ve all faced fear before. And, you may have heard the saying that fear can be in the car, but it doesn’t get to be in the driver’s seat (loose quote from Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic).

So while paddle boarding looked fun, I had to overcome my fear of falling into the water. I’m still leery after falling off a foot bridge with my little brother when I was 10, nearly drowning both of us. I’ve taken swimming lessons since then, but found it mostly to be an exercise in “controlled drowning,” a struggle to master breathing pattern with moving limbs.

So, I let myself be afraid, practiced my breathing, and stayed close to the dock and good swimmers!

3. Choose your time but don’t wait for ideal circumstances

If you’ve got a dream in your heart, you’ll likely face obstacles. It’s easier to stick with the status quo that it is to make big scary changes. But if you want to make progress, you’ve got to begin somewhere, sometime. At some point, you have to stop waiting for the “right time,” and simply pick a good time.

Paddle boarding in South Central Alaska will never be as idyllic as in warmer climates, but July is our warmest month (with an average temperature of 65℉). I knew the July 4th weekend was a good bet!

If I fell off the board, I’d be cold but would soon warm up.

4. Leverage skills you already have

If you’re venturing into something new, you’ll likely find that you have transferable skills. Think about what you’ve done before that required similar techniques or processes and use these as the basis for beginning.

In my paddle boarding scenario, I realized that my experiences kayaking and canoeing were similar so I drew on these skills. Both of these require balancing and moving carefully to avoid tipping so I already had a solid foundation.

5. Take baby steps and let them be awkward

You can ease into new situations, taking baby steps and allowing room to learn as you go. As you conquer each new step, you’ll gain confidence and skills that will help you move onto the next one.

For me, this meant simply getting out on the board first. I knew that being on my knees was much more stable than standing up so I started there. Once I’d paddled around sitting down on my knees, I raised up on my knees and realized the board was more stable than I’d thought.

And then began the really awkward phase of putting one leg forward, starting to stand up, sitting back down. Paddling more. Trying again. Looking silly in the process.

6. Give yourself time and set micro goals

Remember, you don’t have to and probably won’t master a new goal in one sitting. Most likely, you’ll find you take a step forward at a time (and maybe some backwards as well).

With paddle boarding, I spent my first time out just paddling on my knees. The next time, my goal was to simply stand up. And when I accomplished that, I paddled halfway down to the next dock. Maybe next time, I can make it across the lake. We’ll see!

7. Let it evolve

Sometimes we know what we’re chasing and sometimes we simply know that we must follow a yearning. For me with my writing dream, I’ve had to be patient.

I still don’t know exactly where God’s leading me. But I keep stepping forward, and stepping forward. And slowly, the goal gets clearer. Sometimes the journey is the point, after all.

Are you chasing a dream that might be a goal?

It might just be a whisper in your heart now, waiting for you to pay attention. What’s calling to you? I hope you’ll chase it.

If you’d like a guide on your journey of chasing a goal, I’d love to help! Check out my coaching page for more information on how we could work together.