Throughout the years, there has been over 12’000 challenges undertaking within Challengers Community. And with that experience, it dawned on me, what makes it that some challenges succeed more than others.
First things first, there is no one size fits all, depending on your challenge, your current mindset, your abilities and many different factors, your approach on a challenge can wildly vary. Here is a technique and mind set that i have developed, which is aimed at allowing flexibility to be able to face the unpredictable waves and tides from real life.
I call it WILD Goals, as in Wayfinder, Incremental, Learn, Dynamic. First of all, the idea of having a goal that is wild, in contrast that is something that is fixed or that you can control makes a huge difference on how you are going to approach it. Think about, when is the last time that you laid out a long and elaborated plan, and that every thing went according to it? Must of the times I’ve make or seen such plans, might that be at work personal, it usually all falls to pieces when the first step goes sideways, in a way you didn’t expect. It’s normal, it’s part of life, and everyone around you have their own thoughts and dynamic that are completely out of your control. So flexibility is key.
Wayfinder
The first step in WILD Goals is to set yourself a destination. Imagine that far away place you want to reach. You might not know what it looks like, but you know to get there you need to go in that direction. You may want to define your goal in high details or to keep it blurry, both are fine, as long as it gives you a general direction towards with you want to go.
For example lets say you want to learn a new skill. Your destination is pretty straight forwards as it is to actually be able to accomplish that skill. Some may want to add a bit more specification such as how long do i need to be able to do without failing, or how many reps in a row… But in either case, the general direction is clear: you’ll need to practice in order to get better. That is your Wayfinder.
Incremental
Now that you know in which general direction you need to go to, its all about taking it one step at a time. You don’t need to see the full path on how to reach your goal. Its about doing what is visible and accessible now.
Once you have taken those first few steps, you will have a new point of view on your journey, how hard it is, how fast or slow is your progress, and what are the next few steps that have become clearer now that i have moved forwards.
With all that new experience and as you get closer to your goal, you can adjust it and specify it. Remember, its a WILD Goal, its a like a living organism of its own. So if it moves and shifts to the side to a new place its a good sign your goal is alive. It might grow, it might get clearer or blurrier, and it might even lead you into a few detours. Imaging a toddler trying to catch the cat, the cat being the goal. The toddler is going to keep on readjusting its course according to where the cat goes.
Learn
With every step to take forwards to get more experience and more knowledge. Use it to your advantage. A few steps back you didn’t know what was laying ahead of you, but know you have discovered what it looks like. You have grown and are know better suited to make new decisions. This new learning will lead you to redefine your next few steps. As the toddler runs for the 3rd time towards the cat and scaring it away, he’s going to reassess his approach and strategy.
Dynamic
Use this newly built experience to redefine your goal as well. How does your new learning impact your vision on your goal? Maybe you realize the learning curve is quite steep and you’ll need to take a detour. Maybe you actually learned that you are learning the wrong skill and that the skill you actually want to learn is a bit different.
Remember your goal is like a living organism, it may stay steady, but it may move change and evolve over time. Let it live and keep on following it. It might take you to unexpected places, but you’ll build a rich experience well worth the journey.
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