Bet on yourself.

“Leap and the net will appear.” – John Burroughs

This year, I’m deciding to go all-in with the goals I have. It sounds obvious—of course we need to be all-in to succeed. But how often do we quietly talk ourselves out of what we want?

These are just ways our brain tries to keep us “safe,” by convincing us NOT to take actions towards our goals. Because goals can be scary. The unknown feels risky. Disappointment, failure, and letting ourselves (or others) down feels scary. So, we hedge our bets. We put in half-effort as a built-in excuse for why we didn’t make it.

But half-effort isn’t going all-in.

Something shifts when we decide to go all-in, when we DO take actions—even if we ultimately don’t end up with our intended goal. 

Even if we don’t end up with our intended goal?!

Yes. Because by doing this, we are seeing what’s possible for ourselves, stretching ourselves past who we already are and becoming an expanded version of ourselves. 

I want to see who I can become through this process. I know that no matter what the outcome, I will grow from going through this process. 

And maybe that’s the whole point of having goals. Not only to achieve the goal, but to see who we can become by working towards the goal. In working towards the goal, we will be strengthening our belief in ourselves, we might be taking actions we’ve never taken before, and we might be feeling the discomfort of doing these new things, these hard things. 

Then it doesn’t matter so much if we actually achieve the goal or not. Because we still get to be the person we’ve become from the effort we’ve exerted. That part doesn’t go away. That growth becomes part of us. We can take this version of ourselves to the next thing, and the next.

And that version of us? That’s the real win.

Your turn: What do you want for yourself that you’re willing to go all-in on and bet on yourself to make happen? What would you need to think and believe? What would you need to feel? And what actions would you take (or not take) to get the result you want? Who will you become along the way?

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