Wildly Improbable Goals
Do you remember being young and dreaming about doing something wildly outrageous? A friend recently sent me a link to an article in Golf Digest about a man that fulfilled a boyhood fantasy to play 18 different golf courses in Scotland in one day.
It reminded me of a tool I use with clients known as a WIG (Wildly Improbable Goal). WIG’s have the ability to push us beyond what we thought to be our limitations. WIGs are wildly improbable but not impossible goals that can help move us toward a future that is more connected to true hopes and desires.
Jamie Kennedy’s description of the steps he took to make his dream a reality are so close to the WIG tool that I thought I’d share his story. The idea began in his youth, he resurrected it during the COVID shut down and this year he actually did it! He writes about the few months that golf courses were closed and how he started to plan comeback rounds and trips once things opened up. “I would map journeys, redesign courses from Google aerials and one day reconnected with memories of those drives out to North Berwick. After a quick imaginary conversation with my 10-year-old self, I began thinking about how the wonder of those trips could become a reality.”
“I would map journeys, redesign courses from Google aerials and one day reconnected with memories of those drives out to North Berwick. After a quick imaginary conversation with my 10-year-old self, I began thinking about how the wonder of those trips could become a reality.”
Setting a WIG doesn’t stop at the “dreaming and scheming” phase. It’s important to step into the future and spend time feeling the feelings of being in the future as if you’ve already accomplished your dream. For Jamie, perhaps he smelled the fresh cut grass, he might have pictured one of his favorite holes on a golf course and heard the ping of a golf ball being hit down the fairway. Taking the time to drench your senses in the future scene you want to create is an important part of the activity.
Next, Jamie began making a Google list of all of the courses and how they lined up next to each other. This part of the WIG undertaking is where you step out of the world of imagination and into the present moment and break down the large goal into small manageable steps.
It took Jamie three years of planning to get to the moment on June 20th where he was dropped off by a taxi at 4:45 a.m. to make his dream or WIG a reality. The entire day was a dream he had as a kid and somehow he was able to rekindle his desire and make it happen! What dreams did you have as a child or young adult that you’d like to rekindle? Contact me so we can talk about your WIGS and organize some small steps you can take to work towards making them happen!
Reflection: If you didn’t care what people thought, what’s something you’d like to try? If you were sure you’d succeed, what’s something you’d attempt? If you weren’t worried about the future, what’s something you’d want to make happen?
Action: Take 15-20 minutes and explore with your feelings and senses (not with your logical mind) what it would feel like when you’ve attained your WIG from the reflection above.
Tool: Read Jamie Kennedy’s article for inspiration.