Quick question: how much do you value the things you got for free or cheap? Whether it’s clothes from Goodwill, a cheap pair of sunglasses, or even a steeply discounted online course (or course bundle-those are all the rage right now)… How do you treat it?

• Do you take the time to go through the course?
• Make sure you don’t get any stains on your clothes?
• Take the time to put your sunglasses back in their case and never sit on or lose them?

I’m willing to bet you don’t. So why is it any different when it comes to…

Sounds ridiculous, right? Setting an impossible goal. It’s name defies all reason and possibility. Why would anyone set an impossible goal, let alone choose to believe they could achieve it? What’s the point? Isn’t it impossible?

What is an Impossible Goal?

I first learned about this concept by listening to The Life Coach School Podcast. Inside Self Coaching Scholars, there’s an entire month dedicated to choosing and pursuing your impossible goal. All the coaches are trained in it and every session I’ve asked questions about it has given me incredible insight into what it actually takes.

An impossible goal is a goal that, when you…

I’m in Brooke Castillo’s monthly coaching program called Self Coaching Scholars. She’s the Master Coach Instructor and founder of The Life Coach School. When I found her podcast, I binged it for a year and a half before deciding to join the program.

What is Self Coaching Scholars?

Brooke knows her coaching. She knows so much and has taught so many valuable classes and created intense coaching courses that are all inside the world of Self Coaching Scholars. She started off as a weight coach. Then she branched out as an overdrinking coach. …

When we go from childhood to adulthood, we have teachers. We learn things from a lot of places: school, books, podcasts, documentaries, friends, family. And as we enter adulthood, we learn things from our workplaces, our employers, coworkers, and leaders. These are all teachers, sometimes mentors, and sometimes our coaches, like sports team coaches in high school and college. But when we leave the structure of school, we lose the built-in accountability. Adulthood is when we most need an accountability coach.

What is Coaching?

If you Google this question, the first result says it’s “unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance…

Patience is a virtue — or, at least, that’s what people like to say. I’m slowly learning how to be patient, and I’ve found that God teaches me patience by putting me in situations that test my patience. Of course, that makes sense — how can someone become patient without practice?

Historically, I have not been a patient person. I get irritated and antsy when something takes longer than I think it should take. …

In the spirit of some other goal or accomplishment structures I’ve seen, like the 19 for 2019 or 20 in 2020, I’m putting together a “27 while 27” list for myself. This isn’t a set-in-stone list of goals, just a list of things I’d like to do or experience while I’m in my 27th year.

And yes, I’m drawing from previous lists! I’m also allowing overlap with other current goals.

I’m drawing some inspiration from the Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast, where I first heard about these ideas and liked some of the examples people came up with.

27 While 27

1. Impossible Goal
2. …

First question. Who did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut? Veterinarian? Doctor? Lawyer? Second question. Who are you right now? And would your younger self be proud of you?

Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

As a kid, I first wanted to be a veterinarian. I love dogs, loved learning about animal husbandry, and lived on 5 acres with dogs, horses, a cat, chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs. An animal lover’s paradise, right?

But my desire to practice veterinary medicine died when we put down our Boxer, Mocha. I couldn’t understand how I would handle that kind of emotional wreckage as a…

You kill your own dreams when you don’t let yourself imagine beyond the tiny box you’re putting yourself in. Maybe you’ve adopted the beliefs of someone else who told you you’ll never achieve that impossible future. Maybe you’ve looked around and seen evidence that people just don’t do that kind of thing in this town.

Think outside of the box.

Trite, cliche, overused… And yet, one of those timeless truths. How often have you actually thought outside of the box? …