Impossible Dreams are more Feasible

As I continue to be fascinated with Tim Ferriss' book 4 Hour Work Week, here's another of his ideas I want to delve into - "Doing the Unrealistic is Easier Than Doing the Realistic".

According to Tim, everyone is competing for realistic goals. Hence, there is less competition for higher, impossible goals as everyone thinks they are "impossible". But two things should be kept in mind - people usually overestimate the effort needed to accomplish great things and people usually underestimate their capabilities.

The next reasoning of Tim is this - larger "impossible" goals and dreams give us a more intense drive, passion, and commitment to overcome obstacles involved in achieving what we want as compared to "mediocre" goals and dreams.

"If the potential payoff is mediocre or average, so is your effort."

For example, would an employee likely choose a week of overtime for extra income for a weekend in a nearby so-so beach (Mindoro perhaps). Or would it be more probable that an employee would go at length to demand a raise, more vacation leave, for a higher position, more projects if this would all permit him to spend a month in Boracay or even Hawaii.

The former scenario is not uncommon but would be often put off. But faced with the latter option a person would be really forced to rethink his career and really commit.

After consuming this idea I decided to reevaluate all that I have been doing and planning even if I have thought of myself as ambitious and a risk-taker. Maybe I am still too "realistic" and by this I probably still don't have enough drive to accomplish realistic goals.

Here are my old goals:

• Quit smoking
• Exercise everyday
• Have enough income to cover bills an go out every weekend buy doodads
• Go to Boracay every year
• Succeed in an online business
  

Here are my new dreams:

• Climb Mount Fuji
• Buy a souped-up 300C Chrysler
  
• Tour Europe and South Africa
• Buy a hi-end franchise
  
• Make 10 thousand dollars monthly through an online business
• 20,00 push-ups and run in a marathon

Try this simple exercise yourself.

What are your old goals and new "unrealistic" dreams?