Goalercise

By Jill Koenig
Author, Coach, Motivational Speaker

As spring approaches I thought I would write about a fun mind stretching exercise that is designed to grow your capacity to think and dream bigger. After a long winter, if you were to put on your running shoes and attempt to run 50 miles without stretching, warming up and working up to it, you would probably hurt yourself. The same applies to stretching and exercising your mind for goal setting. If you have never set huge goals before, at first this might seem as foreign as learning to speak a foreign language. But this is probably one of the most important steps to expand your mind.

I call this lesson "GOALERCISE"

I first did this with my friend Tim. He suggested I make a list of 101 Goals. He did the same and we met face to face and shared our lists with each other. This Goalercise is not meant to be perfectionistic, there are absolutely no timelines involved and each goal should be described briefly in 2 or 3 words, in fact the only rule is to force yourself to THINK BIG and force yourself to think of 101 Goals. The crazier the better. Here's how the Goalercise works. Get a few sheets of paper and write numbers 1-101 like this:

My 101 Goals
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

all the way to 101

Then let your mind run wild and capture as many DREAMS and GOALS as you can imagine. Imagine that nothing is impossible, you can have anything you want, you can become, achieve and obtain everything that you include on this list. What would you dare to dream if you knew you could not fail? Imagine that this list will determine the next 5, 10, 15 20 years. Imagine what would inspire you to the heights of adventure and fearlessness for rest of your life. What would give your life meaning? What would you like to have, be, give or do? Don't hold back. Imagine that if you don't put it on the list, it will never happen.

Your list of 101 Goals might look like this:

My 101 Goals
1. Learn to Play Guitar
2. Write a # 1 book on Goals
3. Get Pilot's license
4. Skydive
5. Teach class at the Homeless shelter
6. Run Chicago Marathon
7. Travel to Italy
8. Work with Oprah
9. Write a song with Diane Warren
10. etc
(these are from my list of goals)

You see how it works. Give absolutely no thought to past failures. Give absolutely no thought to your current financial limtations. Give absolutely no thought to how much time you think it will take. Give absolutely no thought to what is practical. Give absolutely no thought to anything that could possibly limit your list in any way. List things that would put a big smile on your face, in your heart and be contagious to the people you love. What gifts would you like to give to humanity? It took me several sessions of sitting down and adding to my list until I got to 101 Goals and now I can't stop adding to it. Now that I have stretched my mind, I find that nothing is impossible. In fact, I looked at my list the other day and found that I had achieved many of the goals I set two years ago when I first started the list! When at the time I made the list I had absolutely no idea HOW I would do it, but because I wrote it down on paper, my subconscious mind started to lead me towards the Goals and attracted people into my life that brought them into reality.

Goalercise Guidelines:
*List 101 Goals (dreams) on paper in no particular order
*Think REALLY BIG as if anything is possible
*Do this with a friend and if your friend doesn't make a list of 101 goals, or if you can't find someone to follow through within 7 days, share your list with me jill@GoalGuru.com


"Dreams are the seedlings of reality." -James Allen

And any dream can be yours if you will dare to claim it and go after it...