Of the many fascinating quotes, Michael Phelps’ one presents us with beauty on goals – “I Think Goals Should Never Be Easy, They Should Force You To Work, Even If They Are Uncomfortable At The Time”. We have always been fascinated by goals, dreams and what they do to our psyche. This discussion elaborates the impact of a tough goal that can make you work your ass off. There is a beauty in something that challenges you at each note. One such note is this – Goals should never be easy!
I remember the day Michael Phelps wowed us with his amazing display with a record all-time high of Olympic gold medals. It was not just stunning to watch, but I could feel a part of me excited and believe that – WOW, amazing things do happen for people! On that note, we are in absolute awe of this quote:
“I Think Goals Should Never Be Easy, They Should Force You To Work, Even If They Are Uncomfortable At The Time.”
Michael Phelps
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Goals should never be easy!
This takes me back to my early days in B school about goal setting. The context was “If you have always succeeded in every goal you set, how do you know that you have explored your full potential?”
That thought has been a tremendous influence each time I go through a roadblock. I have always prided in setting up goals to succeed. Growing up it was academics, then it was preparing for the IAS exams and then setting up a company and driving it with complete passion. Not that I succeeded in every one of them, but I really thought I could. There are days where I curse myself for taking a few challenges more than necessary.
But amidst these failures, lies a personality that makes you realise how strong you are. This is not just about setting goals, failing, getting up and trying again. This is also about knowing who you are and what your limitations are.
We have talked about quotes of perseverance – Perseverance is a great element of success. They have taken us through the right ways to fail and come back on our feet. But what if these goals change with time. What do you do, when you realise your true calling and need to make a pivot?
Knowing yourself – Goals
Having been thinking about this for a while, I truly don’t know what absolute success or failure is anymore. All I know is that there is a journey at each point in time, there are outcomes and above all is the way we respond to situations.
No matter what we choose to do, there are challenges, roadblocks. Some of these roadblocks make you realise how badly you want something – The brick walls are there for a reason! . Some others make you realise your true calling.
Neither of these is good or bad on their own terms! But you can always feel their impact and decide what you want to do about it!
Forcing you to work
If everything you chose was ever easy, you would never feel a sense of accomplishment. How do you know what is tough? How do you realise that you had to go through lengths to make something happen for you?
Goals should never be easy, they should force you to work. You should be able to look at an unsurmountable mountain and break it down to see how you can achieve it. Your fulfilment doesn’t come from setting up menial goals to feel happy. You can find a thousand reasons to be happy right now.
We are talking about a different goal here – a goal to achieve, something that makes you sweat. Something that breaks you only to build you again.
The confidence issue
No matter what your goals are, if you are truly committed, you can find a way to achieve them. It may be hard, challenging and might provoke you to find alternatives. The truth is you owe it to yourself to live life at the highest possible standard. Not because someone else wants you to, but because you are capable of it.
If you keep moving from one small target to another, where is your true growth? What are you really capable of?
Isn’t that the whole point of living life on the edge and proving yourself at each stage how magical your capabilities are?
On that note, should goals be simple and easy?
“I Think Goals Should Never Be Easy, They Should Force You To Work, Even If They Are Uncomfortable At The Time.”
Michael Phelps
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So very true!
If you settle for something easy, you won’t be able to discover your true potential, and all efforts of your Creator will go to waste!
This is a very nice view Shilpa, we all are born with a few talents. Granted that these talents will be questioned about and doubted upon. But that’s all about honing up these skills better. It is very unfair to ourselves if we don’t try to live life at a standard we are capable of. This probably is a never ending process but an equally fruitful one.
The higher the bar, the greater is the leap. Phelps showed the way and you have decoded it beautifully
Nice to hear from you Kshari. I have tremendous amount of respect for Phelps, and this quote is a fascinating one. This topic is of special interest to me, right from the completion of engineering. There have been a lot of goals from then, a lot I have failed on, some I have succeeded on. In fact there were some which I didn’t even know were my goals :D :D . But nevertheless, they kept me moving through an emotional journey.
I do like the person I am today and the failures through this process have had a huge impact on the way I behave and look at things now. Although I don’t like everything about it, I suppose that is all to do with growing up. You can’t have all the roses without thorns :).
Welcome to our space Kshari, would love to keep in touch on this sphere.
This man is too good.
He broke a small bone in his right wrist while trying to enter a car, where he was training for the Beijing Olympics. However he went ahead and created history.
True Suman, I have been fascinated by this guy and his commitment. It was a shame to read about his DUI, such a great achiever. It is these things that make me wonder about the human personality. There is amazing strength within and the energy, capacity to channel it as well. Once you reach a certain height or goal, there is always more to do and keep pushing forward.
To take no credit away from him, his achievements are tremendous and a huge source of inspiration. I would love a sneak peak of his thought process or a book that takes us through what makes him as a personality and how he went about achieving his goals. The psyche becomes such a strong part of it and if there are a few lessons to incorporate in our own lives, I would love such an opportunity.
As managers, when one sets goals and deliverable for self and the group, we are often told goals should be such that it should not be easily reachable. Which individual will set a goal for himself that will affect his performance bonus? In case of Michael Phelps he was working for his personal glory and he was motivated to earn medals. As a motivated individual one may set tough goal, for a group it becomes a very unpopular leader.
Hi Abhijit, I am afraid you have misunderstood the post – there is not a single reference to work culture or a boss setting up goals for an individual. The frame of reference for this article is for an individual to set high standards for themselves to lead a better quality of life. In an organisational set up, I can see where you are coming from
“Truth is you owe it to yourself to live life at the highest possible standard”….good line!!
Thank you Ellora, nice to hear from you :). Appreciate your comment