40 INVESTMENT ADVISOR DECEMBER 2020 | ThinkAdvisor.comhappen, which I am certain my grandfather wanted me to learn.
LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY
While it’s true that goals help us in manyways, depending on a list of goals can —and does — limit our level of thinking.
When we set goals, we set outto achieve them instead of stayingfocused and open to the many thingsthat are possible.
The risk of using tightly definedgoals is that it may limit our ability to understand everything we canachieve, which is likely to be far morethan we’ve ever imagined.
This is not to say goals aren’t helpful. But when you set a goal foryourself, it can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy and shape all that youimagine is possible for yourself.
This is especially true if the goalis flawed. And let’s face it, we’re allflawed, which means we run the riskof holding ourselves back instead ofpushing ourselves forward into theunknown. The point is that we allhave opportunities and possibilitiesthat aren’t yet apparent.
Many times (I’ve learned andobserved) when all the goals and listsof what we think we want to achievedisappear, we give ourselves the gift offreedom to know that we can succeeddespite whatever comes our way. Indoing so, we are more open to knowinghow to respond to what is happeningaround us while it’s happening.
To truly know is to understand thebig picture of what is possible, and thisbig picture is — simply — that anythingis possible. If you do the work immediately in front of you, do it consistentlyand do it well, you will be better offtomorrow than you are today. And, frommy perspective, being better tomorrowis really the only goal you need.
If that is your goal, eventually you
will know how to live in limitless uncer-
tainty and be open to all the possibilities,
The alternative is to work with a
list of goals that may limit how much
growth (you’ve already decided) you
can reach and can stop you from know-
ing what’s truly possible. If you decide
you’re capable of achieving all that is
possible, you will one day know that
anything is possible.
As we exit 2020, an unprecedentedyear for the world, my wish is that youwill enter 2021 not simply imaginingthe possibilities but responding to themas they unfold.
No set of goals will ever give you thepower to predict what’s possible for youand your teams to achieve.
If you’re open to all possibilities, Ipromise — much like my grandfatherinstinctively knew of me — you will knowwhat to do with that knowledge. And,knowing that you do not know everything that’s possible and being OK withthat knowing is the greatest freedom(and growth) of all.
Angie Herbers is an independent consultant tothe advisory industry. She can be reached atangie@angieherbers.com.
The risk of using tightly defined
goals is that it limits our ability to
understand everything we can achieve,
which is likely to be far more than
we’ve ever imagined.
KieferPix/Shutterstock
