A friend told me recently that one thing she likes about me is that I accomplish the goals I set for myself.
After considering that for a few minutes, I realized… she doesn’t see the goals I missed.
So I took two things from that realization:
1. I probably don’t achieve the goals I set for myself that much better than anyone else. The difference for me might just be that I set more goals. In other words, perhaps my success rate isn’t any higher than anyone else’s… I just try more, which means that I succeed but also that I fail more than most people.
2. No one sees the goals I miss on the way to the goals I accomplish. I mean, sure, sometimes people see when I fail. They might even enjoy watching me fall on my face. But they don’t see the cost of the success. They just see the success. And that’s certainly not just true for me. When people see success, they don’t see its cost, even though it’s always there.
Just some thoughts on human perception and goal achievement.
