SET REALISTIC GOALS

Know thyself.” — Socrates

Getting facts from the outside world is only one piece of the puzzle; the second and most important piece is knowing the facts about yourself. When you know yourself and your target, you are well-equipped to decide if a goal is truly achievable. This is how you set realistic goals.

Professional boxers employ this principle before accepting a fight; they pick fights that they have a higher chance of winning- in other words, they pick a realistic goal.  A featherweight will not dream of picking a fight with a heavyweight - because they are at a weight disadvantage. A rookie boxer with relatively fewer wins won't call out a reigning champion with numerous wins and KOs. By knowing themselves and their opponents, they are better armed to accept the right challenge.

This same principle can be applied in everyday life; you just don't jump at any goal, it must be realistic. Realistic here means you have the required resources - knowledge, time, skills, technology, tools, people, or expertise. That increases your chances of success. 

Don't get me wrong, every goal on the planet is achievable. But timing matters; if you cannot achieve a goal NOW, then it means you must first acquire some resources. 

This proves that realistic goals are subjective and depend on the individual's resources at hand. Thus, your realistic goal may not be my realistic goal. So don't be quick to listen to naysayers, especially if you are well-equipped to pursue a goal.

In conclusion

• Know yourself.
• Know the facts around your goals.
• Verify you are well-equipped.

This drastically reduces your chances of failure. 

In the next section, we take a slightly different turn. We focus on the process instead of the outcome to see how the process itself can reduce the rate of failure