5 Steps To Change Finite Goals Into Infinite Goals

By Disrupting How You Define, Set, and Plan Your Goal Journey

The new year is here and with it comes resolutions. I will “lose weight, exercise more, spend less, save more, quit this, learn that, etc.” With good intention, strong motivation, maybe even some planning behind each resolution, you'd think that most would succeed in accomplishing their yearly goals. Not so much. The fact is that most people have already failed their New Year’s Resolutions by the end of March that same year. 

Why do so many fail at achieving their goals? 

There are many reasons but one of the biggest, if not the biggest is because their goals are finite. Finite goals focus your attention on the destination, rather than the journey.

It is great that you want to summit your Everest, but are you aware of what the climb entails? Are you prepared to prepare for the climb? Finite Goals put your mind on the summit while awareness and preparation get lost in hindsight.

To steal a phrase from the tech world, the current methods of goal setting and planning are ripe for “disruption”.

Redefining Goals:

 We live in a world where we measure everything, I mean EVERYTHING.

Due to our obsession with data and measurement, the most common finite goals are ones that have measurable outcomes.

"I will lose “X” or gain “X” or save “X” etc." 

Measurable goals come with a finish line. Sometime in the near future, if you cross that finish line you inevitably face a “now what” moment.

You made it, now what?

Finite goals are for short-term gains. When setting your goals, ask yourself, are you doing this for the short-term gain or are you in this for the long-term change?  

Infinite goals are for those who are in this for the long-term change.  Setting an infinite goal eliminates the destination mindset. By removing the finish line, you remain present and your focus is on what needs your attention that day.  The bad days won’t destroy your momentum because you know the world will keep spinning and bring you another opportunity the next day. You simply have to strive to get better every single day.

5 Easy Steps To Change Finite Goals Into Infinite Goals

     Using the Unsung Hero Journal's 4 Pillar Philosophy, the 5 steps below will show you how to convert your finite goals into infinite goals.

(The First Edition of the Unsung Hero Journal will be available in 2022)

  1.) From Finite to Infinity and.. (Your brain probably finished this sentence)

     Let’s look at what some common finite goals would look like using the 4 Pillar Philosophy from the Unsung Hero Journal.

Personal Pillar.) I will read 20 books this year

Health Pillar.) I will lose 20 pounds this year

Financial Pillar.) I will save $6000 by the end of the year

Professional Pillar.) I will exceed my sales quota of $120,000 this quarter

These are all great goals with real positive outcomes. Yet, the obvious issue is they are all destination-focused.  The key is to look at each of these goals through an infinite lens.  By doing so, you’ll see that these goals cannot be accomplished without eliminating the bad habits and routines that you currently have. Breaking habits and routines are not easy and require as much effort and determination as the goal itself to break.

Now, take a look at those same goals through that infinite lens.

Personal Pillar.)  I will establish a new daily routine that eliminates wasted time to allow more time for me to read.

Health Pillar.) I will establish a healthy lifestyle routine that includes a consistent workout routine, healthy eating habits, and a mindfulness routine.

Financial Pillar.) I will establish healthy spending and money management habits      

Professional Pillar.) I will establish a new work routine in which I can increase my time and productivity on tasks that generate new sales opportunities.

You will notice that all of the goals are habit and routine-based. The best way to replace a bad habit or ineffective routine is to replace it with a better one. Each one of these infinite goals can have the same measurable impact of “losing 20 pounds” but instead of stopping at "20" you keep going and continue to get better. By focusing on routines and habits that require daily and weekly commitment you lose the destination mindset and start focusing on the journey. How do you reach the summit of Mount Everest? One step at a time?

2.) Establish Goal Significance

Why did you choose this to be your goal? What makes it so special? Do not lose sight of the significance behind each of your goals. Write it down in your Unsung Hero Journal, remind yourself of it daily, use sticky notes, use digital reminders, or any way you can. While the 4 Pillars of your life and the goals that you set within the Pillars have your attention. That attention can easily be stolen by the shifting priorities of each day. A constant reminder of your “why” behind each goal will help keep you motivated on your goal journey.

 3.) Set Checkpoints

A Checkpoint is a significant point in your goal journey that you must reach to accomplish your goal. Chopping your goal into smaller bites keeps your focus on that next step.

Here is an example of what Checkpoints can look like using two of the goals from the 4 Pillars above.

Personal Pillar.) I will establish a new daily routine that eliminates wasted time to allow more time for me to read.

Checkpoint 1.) Replace the nightly routine of watching TV in bed with reading at least 1 chapter from my current book.

Checkpoint 2.) Decrease the amount of time I spend mindlessly browsing on my phone           

Health Pillar.) I will establish a healthy lifestyle routine that includes a consistent workout routine, healthy eating habits, and a mindfulness routine.

Checkpoint.) Replace my unhealthy snacking habits with healthy ones by eliminating unhealthy snack purchases at the grocery store.

Checkpoint.) Replace my current morning routine with one that includes time for morning meditation and reflection. No more laying in bed on my phone!

Checkpoint.) Establish a weekly workout routine that includes daily movement minimums.

Identifying what your Checkpoints should be and prioritizing them will require some honest self-reflection. Identifying your bad habits and/or routines requires you to put your ego aside and be honest with yourself. Admitting that you have tendencies to react negatively to overwhelming emotions like stress and anger which cause you to stress eat, sit in front of a TV or on your phone, make impulse purchases, drink, etc. is not always easy to recognize and always harder to admit. 

Tip: Remove your ego from your self-reflection. Your ego just wants to do whatever "feels" good in the moment. Regardless of whether it is good. It'll also convince you that it is good for you because you "need" this. 

 4.) Visualize And Overcome Potential Obstacles

Here is an example of how to use visualization on one of the goals from the 4 Pillars.

Financial Pillar.) I will establish healthy spending and money management habits      

Checkpoint.) Decrease my online shopping spend by $1000 over the next 3 months

Potential Obstacles? My tendency to browse social media and Amazon and be tempted by a product or advertisement will ultimately cause me to make an impulse purchase.

• How will I Overcome? I will delete all social media and shopping apps from my phone Monday – Friday every week. I will then replace my mindless scrolling on those apps with spending time on my budgeting apps. I will keep myself aware of where I am at with my budget and how much money I have available to spend. Goodbye impulse purchases!

 5.) Reflect and Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself

     Infinite goals have no finish line, the goal is to simply get better every single day. You will have days where you raise the bar higher than others. You will also have days where you will fall, hard. That's life. The important thing is to not beat yourself up too much on the bad days and to make sure you celebrate the strong days.

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