Why do I fail even when I set realistic goals?
Most people fail not because they set the bar too high, but because they stop after they miss the first time. It is about resilience. When I first started going to the gym, I couldn't even lift the bar properly. I had to drop down to 95 lbs, which was humbling. But I decided to show up every day and try to get just one more rep than I did previously. That tiny progress, stacked daily, is what eventually allowed me to lift 225 lbs.

How do I actually master a skill when it feels impossible?
You have to obsess over efficiency and repetition. When I started in dentistry, prepping a crown took me an hour. I saw a mentor doing it in five minutes and didn't believe it was real. But I set a sub-goal: get to 12 minutes. Then I kept prepping and timing myself until I got it down to three minutes. It wasn't magic; it was decisive action and thousands of reps.

My long-term goal feels like it's getting further away. How do I stay focused?
You cannot constantly look at the overall goal, or you will lose heart. You have to create sub-goals that you can actually accomplish in the short term. It is a mindset shift. If you focus on the fact that you pushed the boulder two inches forward today, you celebrate that. If you only focus on the top of the hill, the grind will crush you.

How can I keep my team motivated without micromanaging them?
Don't just remind them of the big quarterly goal; remind them of the daily wins. Did they close a client? Did they handle a meeting smoothly? Celebrate that immediately. As a leader, you have to recognize that no employee is going to grind harder than you. If you expect them to run at your pace without recognizing their specific wins, they will burn out.

Watch the full episode at https://youtu.be/H-5w12Oj5zc.
read more in THE ASCENT | 040

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