Comments on: Aim High; Shoot Low

By: Rebecca Laffar-Smith

Rebecca Laffar-Smith — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:38:06 +0000

Hi Bill, it sounds like your favorite saying means more or less the same thing. Most of the time, when we set goals we underacheive. Just like the arrow of a bow flies and falls short of its target if not aimed high enough. If you aim high, you’ll hit higher than if you’d aimed low. Continuing to raise your aim pushes your boundaries and abilities encouraging growth.

Thanks for the praise Mike!

Wow, Caroline! I wish I could focus on year long goals rather than the smaller stepping stones. Of course, if I focused 12 months down the line I’d get there having accomplished nothing. I need to focus on the short term because I have a short attention span. Having said that, I have long term goals as well, I’ve just broken those long term goals into short terms milestones.

*chuckles* That’s exactly right Bill. Some of us have to make sure we’ll have food on the table at the end of this month. It’s all well and good to make $100,000 a year but if 95% of it is made in November and 5% is split over the other months there are a number of very slim months ahead.

Understanding your limitations IS important Catherine. Fantastic point! Pushing hard for the higher bar is important but if you’re pushing too hard in the wrong places you can do more harm then good. This is where it becomes important to truly examine your goals regularly. Learn from your successes and your failures then adjust accordingly.

Thank you so much everyone for the hearty feedback!

By: CatherineL

CatherineL — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:42:53 +0000

Hi Rebecca – I completely agree with aiming high. I always used to aim for far higher financial goals than others thought possible and I always achieved them.

However, you’ve got to keep your goals real too. For instance, last year I sold a business and began a new one. I set myself ridiculous goals that just weren’t achievable by a new business, because I was used to reaching them in the old one.

Not being realistic about what you’re likely to achieve in the first year of a business can be dangerous if it’s your only source of income.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:43:26 +0000

Caroline….those who have enough income or savings are allowed that luxury. Those that don’t are much more interested in what they can make this month as they need to pay the bills.

By: Caroline Middlebrook

Caroline Middlebrook — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:24:55 +0000

I don’t even bother with monthly monetary goals any more, they are just arbitrary. I focus on much longer term goals like what kind of monthly income I would like to be earning eventually. This gives me focus without bogging me down with worries about whether or not I’ll be meeting my target this month. I much prefer to set a really big longer term goals and then think about what actions I need to take to achieve it and enjoy all the little successes on the way.

By: Mike Huang

Mike Huang — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 07:40:09 +0000

Excellent guest post!

-Mike

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:21:54 +0000

I have to say I have never heard of aiming high and shooting low. I really don’t understand what you mean.

One of my favorite sayings is If you Aim High then you Hit High, if you Aim Low then you hit Low.

The symbolism is that the higher you aim then the higher you hit, if you set your expectations or your aim low then you never break out and reach new heights.

By: Rebecca Laffar-Smith

Rebecca Laffar-Smith — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:48:15 +0000

And… If the theory sounds good TRY IT to see if it really will work for you.

By: Rebecca Laffar-Smith

Rebecca Laffar-Smith — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:47:38 +0000

If you set your goal for $500 expecting $3000 you’re already setting your sights too low. If you set your goal for $3000 and think you ‘might’ only make $500 then all that month you’re striving for $3000. Striving for the higher goal keeps you fighting beyond that $500 mark, it keeps you focused on something greater, it means you’ll be searching out more income streams and working just that little bit harder trying to acheive a goal that feels out of reach.

At the end of the month, if you made $500 or $1000 or $2000 you’ve still accomplished more than if you’d set the bar at $500. The point is to aim high so you constantly have something to keep striving for.

Unless you push your personal bests and your expectations of yourself you’ll never know exactly how much you can achieve.

By: Thomas Sinfield

Thomas Sinfield — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:08:21 +0000

Thats an interesting point. But if you mentally set a goal to make $500 for the month knowing that if you do you will probably hit $3000 are you not just really setting a goal for $3000? Therefore most likely going to not make that goal as well.

It sounds good in theory, just not sure if it would really work.