In my January blog series on goal setting, I want to share my love for Mrs. Tillman, my ninth grade Geometry teacher.

Mrs. Tillman had a heavy Scottish accent and her love of teaching, influencing, and Geometry converged every day in 4th period, right before lunch.

In her Scottish accent, Mrs. Tillman would throw out pithy words of wisdom while she was drawing arcs, triangles, and parallel lines. I remember her saying, “Students, if you are reaching all of your goals, you are not setting them high enough.”

That message has echoed in my head for many decades now. While we don’t want preposterous goals, it’s okay to set stretch goals and move toward them. Even if we only achieve 25% of the goal, we are 25% closer to something that is important to us than we would be if we were not working toward the goal at all.

Every year I seem to fall short of my exercise and fitness goals, yet every year, if I look at my calendar, I see that I exercised almost every day. I am lifting slightly heavier weights, and I am having fun. So, while the goal I set for myself can’t be checked off, I am moving toward the target goal rather than away from it.

Can you look at your goals in a way that suggests moving forward, rather than staying in one place or regressing? Are you setting your goals high enough? Are you allowing a goal to be a target rather than something you MUST achieve? I would love to hear from you and hear your goals.