Are you taking enough shots?

Have you ever heard the famous quote from Wayne Gretzky “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”?  I have heard this many times in my life, but I haven’t taken much time to ponder what it really means.  What do these words mean to you?  Close your eyes, take a minute, and really think about this.

I’m not sure where you’re at today (and I would love to know in the comments).  When I really think about this quote it makes me feel like I might not take enough shots in life.  I think about the fact that I often let fear run my decisions and that in doing so I miss out on so much!

What do you think about?  Do you take risks and reach for goals that seem scary or impossible?  Do you wake up every day and think “I’m going to do one things that scares me”?  I know I struggle with this…and maybe you do too.  If so, read on for some tips on how to move out of the “safe zone” and into a life where you take shots regardless of whether they go in the net or not.

First of all, does the puck going in the net really matter?  Well some people would say “of course” and some people, like me, who don’t have a huge investment in hockey, would say “not really” ;).  The truth is that the end result does matter.  Getting that shot in the net does matter.  It is the way we win the game of hockey…but is it the way we win the game of life?  I would say yes because we are rewarded with the result we achieve.  However we are also rewarded with the journey it takes to reach that result.  It is all in the way we look at things.  We can choose to take risks regardless of what the result will be.  We can practice, shoot on net thousands of times and continue on.  We can find joy in the journey of practicing, understanding the sport and attempting to get the results we want.  This is a choice and it will always make the journey and the result so much more gratifying!

What we often do is only focus on the result and forget about how amazing the journey can be.  In my life I have often wanted to achieve various goals.  Take for example weight loss.  My HUGE goal when I was 17 was to lose 40lbs.  It was big and it was scary.  I had no idea how I was going to do it, however within 9 months I did!  It was an amazing result and I was so thankful.  What I also gained through the journey was learning how to eat better, learning which foods were healthy and made me feel good and discovering more about how to exercise to assist in the weight loss .  I also gained so much by focusing on a goal that seemed so huge and breaking it down into steps so that I could achieve it bit by bit.  This learning has helped me in EVERY area of my life.  If I only focused on the end result of losing the weight, I may have missed the blessings along the way.

What shots in life are you NOT taking because you are overly concerned with the result?  Are you open to making BIG, SCARY goals, setting your mind on achieving them and also enjoying the journey?  Are you able to do something every day/week/month that stretches you and will make you a better person in the long run?  I would encourage you to reflect on what is holding you back from achieving your dreams.  Is it fear of not getting the result and failing?  For many people it is, including me.  I get to keep working on building my goal-setting muscles and stepping into more and more risk in order to learn and grow.  Will you join me on this journey?

I would like to challenge you to create a goal, one that seems like a stretch to you.  Have a SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) goal with a result that makes you smile.  Focus on that AND also focus on the journey of getting there.  There is so much that can be learned in the process if we open our eyes to see it!

I would love to hear more about where you’re at today.  I would also love to hear about your SMART goal and support you in both achieving it and enjoying walking the path to achieving it.  Please leave a comment below and Happy Goal-Setting! 🙂