Is a million trees too big?

Tim Ferriss has a philosophy that setting big goals counterintuitively makes it more likely that you succeed in getting something done.

One reason for this is energy. If you aim low, mustering up the energy to do something is harder because you aren't excited.

If you aim somewhere exciting, then the needed energy flows naturally.

I can't remember the exact example he used, but it was along the lines of "I'll try to run through a wall to go on a catamaran trip through the Greek isles, but I may not get up off the couch for a weekend trip to Columbus, Ohio."

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

Choosing to do things that are exciting to you can make a world of difference to how you feel each day.

Yet there are so many times when I set my sights lower in order to "be realistic".

The result is I lose the enthusiasm for the project and never get the realistic thing done.

How many diets have failed because the dieter aimed to lose a couple pounds instead of committing to the vision of their health that they really want to achieve?

How many have failed because the person decided it was unrealistic to eat the way they believe is right because they know they "wouldn't be able to stick to it"? Instead they go on a compromise diet that reverts to baseline within the month.

In this light, I'm realizing that a lot of "being realistic" is Resistance.

I should circle back on Resistance since we have new people reading that haven't heard me sing the praises of The War of Art yet.

I know most of you still haven't read it either, so I need to get on you about that.

It's short and fun to read! Do it!

While you are at it, set an exciting goal.

What would be something that would make you jump out of bed in the morning with excitment?

What would make your spine tingle to think about doing?

I'll brainstorm a list right now.

• Next winter marks the 10 year anniversary of Chesley and I's Hawaii adventure. I'd love to take the kids on an epic adventure back.
• I want to feel 70+ degree sun before it will be back. The idea of impulsively packing up the car and driving to Key West is such an exciting idea to me right now as I type this that I'm tempted to go drag the family out of bed and head south.
• I have a vision of what a better diet would look like that is primarily whole foods. Meat, eggs, raw (real) milk, animals fats, fruits, and veggies. Honey as a sweetener. Very little processed food. Sourdough bread on occassion. I ate like this for lent last year and felt amazing.
• Going on an Amazon excursion.
• Clearing out the Blue room. Finishing our purge and living a minimalist, clutter free life.
• Committing to the Good Life structure of a 4 hour work day.
• Planting at least a million trees. Maybe we should aim higher. Maybe we should aim to beat the Keystone 10 million trees project. We can call ourselves +1.

There are more things on my list.

These were just a few to maybe trigger some ideas for your own list.

What would get you all jazzed up?

Pick something and decide to do it, even if it isn't realistic. Especially if it isn't realistic.

Look at the world we are living in.

Do you know about Colossal?

The de-extinction company?

The company that has figured out all the pieces to bring back woolly mammoths?

The company that is bringing back woolly mammoths and putting them into a rewilding project in SIberia?

Word on the street is mammoths could be roaming the earth as early as 2024. A few years later at the latest.

How realistic is that?

When I look around at all the crazy things happening, the last thing I want to do is be realistic.

Engage the process!

Reverse the descent to an inactive commonplace!

Do something crazy cool that makes you tingle just thinking about it.

Make it big and unrealistic.

Life is crazy.

Life is good!

Links:

• Colossal Is Bringing Back The Mammoth
• Pleistocene Park - The rewilding experiment where the mammoths will live.