Why Professional Growth Require Impossible Goals, Not SMART Ones

I think SMART goals are dumb.

There. I said it.

And before you close this tab thinking I've lost my mind, hear me out. Because if you're a high-achieving woman who's been told to set reasonable goals your whole life, this might be the permission you've been waiting for.

SMART goals are defined as:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Relevant

• Timebound

I don't mind specific. Measurable is fine. Relevant works.

But achievable goals? Those can f*ck all the way off.

Why "Achievable" Goals Keep You Small

Here's what nobody tells you about achievable goals: they're designed to keep you moving slowly. Enough to check the box and feel productive without actually transforming anything.

For years as a television executive, I didn't set real goals at all. My goal was to do a good job and get promoted. That was it.

And it worked-ish. I did get promoted. I guess I did a good job…but I was also completely miserable.

Because I wasn't asking myself what I actually wanted. I was just doing what came next, following the ladder someone else built. And "achievable" goals would have kept me on that exact same path – just with slightly better titles and marginally higher paychecks.

If I'd actually stopped to set real goals back then, I probably would have figured out something was off way earlier. But I didn't. Because when you're busy being "successful," it's easy to avoid asking the questions that matter.

What Growth Work Actually Requires

Real growth work – the kind that creates lasting change in how you lead, how you show up, and how you live – requires you to aim for something that feels out of reach. It might even scare you. 

Not because fear is productive (it's usually not), but because going after something that feels  impossible makes you ask different questions: 

Who do you need to BE to get there?

At 39, I took a single coaching class just to explore and see what I thought.  And I felt so alive during that first weekend that I decided I was diving in head first. 

I had no idea where it was going to lead me. I just knew I wanted to keep exploring. 

Then I registered for coach certification. And that's when reality hit: we were required to have five paying clients for the entirety of the program.

That felt impossible. I had NO idea how to get clients who would actually pay me. None. But I knew I wanted to be a coach, and I knew I'd have to figure it out.

And I did.

Not because I had a perfect plan. Not because I felt ready. But because the goal required me to become someone who could do that – someone who could talk about her work without apologizing, someone who could trust that she had something valuable to offer and charge money for it. 

The Distinction Between Impossible and Delusional

Now, let me be clear. I'm not talking about delusional goals. I'm not suggesting you decide to become an Olympic gymnast at 45 if you've never done a cartwheel.

Impossible goals are rooted in desire, not fantasy. They're the things you actually want but have talked yourself out of because they seem "unrealistic."

Here's how you know the difference:

Delusional goal: "I'll be a millionaire by next month with no plan or action."

Impossible goal: "I'll build a business doing work I actually love, even though I have no idea how yet."

One ignores reality. The other challenges your current limitations.

Who You Become in the Process

Here's what I can guarantee you: when you set an impossible goal and take messy action toward it, you’ll surpass the achievable goal you were going to set.

But more importantly, you'll become someone different in the process.

When you set impossible goals and actually go after them, you:

• Stop waiting for permission and start trusting yourself

• Learn to tolerate discomfort without abandoning your vision

• Develop resilience that carries into every area of your life

• Build evidence that you're capable of more than you thought

Stop Being So Damn Reasonable

If you've been playing small with your goals – setting targets you know you can hit, aiming for incremental improvements, staying safely within the bounds of what's "achievable" – I want you to ask yourself:

What do you really want that seems totally out of reach?

Who would you need to be to get there?

How would you need to show up differently in the world?

Because the gap between who you are now and who you need to become to reach that impossible goal? That's where all the personal growth work happens. That's where transformation lives.

Stop being so reasonable. Go for impossible and see what happens.

How to Set an Impossible Goal (Without Losing Your Mind)

Setting an impossible goal doesn't mean throwing strategy out the window. Here's how to do it effectively:

Start with desire, not logic. What do you actually want? Not what you "should" want. Not what looks good on paper. Not what society tells you is “right” to want.  What lights you up even if it terrifies you?

Identify who you need to become. This is the real work. What’s the gap you need to fill between where you are now and where you want to be?  What beliefs would you need to let go of? What new skills would you need to develop? How would you need to show up differently?

Take messy action immediately. Don't wait until you have it all figured out. Impossible goals require you to build the plane while you're flying it. Start before you're ready! (Secret - no one is ever really ready!) 

Redefine failure. The only way to fail at an impossible goal is to not try. Everything else is learning.

Ready to set some impossible goals and actually go after them? Schedule a clarity call to explore coaching and see if it’s right for you.