Have you heard of the phrase, “If you chase after two rabbits, you will catch none?”. When you chase after two things at the same time, you have split energy meaning that all of your energy is not being channeled toward a specific goal or result that you want. Now, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have two or more goals. You can. But those two goals shouldn’t draw from the same well, so to speak. Why? Because once you’ve spent your energy, inspiration, and focus on a particular goal, it’s very hard to summon the same kind of drive to channel into the second goal as well.
Complimentary goals vs goals that draw from the same reservoir
If you have complimentary goals – goals that don’t draw from the same reservoir – you can make them work in harmony together. For example, if you have the goal to write and publish a novel, a health goal of losing 10 pounds and a goal to read 18 books during the quarter, it can work. However, if you have the goal to write and publish a novel AND a goal to create a passive income business, you might be taking on too much and it’s highly likely that you won’t advance either of them to your satisfaction. Why? Because both require creativity, doggedness, and immersion. Writing and publishing a novel will mean understanding the process, learning about storytelling, forming accountability groups with other writers, and engaging socially in the writing community. Creating your first passive income business entails the same things – but in the realm of the business you want to create. It’s like working for two different organizations with the same level of commitment. And you’re only one person – something will have to give at some point. It’s not a great strategy. Split energy has its consequences that you want to be mindful of.
Choosing between two hungry rabbits to feed
Let’s say you have two hungry rabbits but can feed only one. How do you choose which one? There are a few ways you can decide. Ask yourself these questions and see if any land strongly for you.
- Which goal, if you don’t pursue, will leave you with regret? If you had to assign a score to the two paths in terms of the regret they would cause by not doing them, which one would score higher?
2. Visualise yourself 3 months, 6 months, or a year from now. Imagine that you’ve chased after goal #1. Say, that’s writing your novel. How does that feel? How would you have changed? What sort of memories would this create? Now visualise the other goal. Let’s say that’s creating your first passive income business. How does that feel? How would you have changed as a person and what memories would that create?
Now that you’ve visualised the outcomes of pursuing both the paths, which one feels more compelling? Which one is more juicy? Which one will leave you feeling fulfilled and accomplished?
What we want changes over time. You want to honour what feels the most aligned right now. Pay attention to what seems aligned both to your logical mind and your heart.
3. Imagine your best friend were asking you this question. What advice would you give her? Knowing her as well as you do, what path do you think would be the best for her to choose? Why?
Sticking to the goal you choose
Once you’ve decided on the path you want to take, the challenge is sticking to it. How do you do that? Immersion. That’s the key. Once you’ve picked the goal, go all-in. Think about it, talk about it, research the heck out of it, connect with people that are doing the same thing, announce your commitment publicly. As soon as you start feeding it energy, your attention gets fastened to it and before long, you get sucked into that world.
The other day, I was attending a coaching call where Steve Pavlina was talking about how you can set yourself up for success before you begin working on a goal. He said, “How can you make it far easier to work on your goal than to not work on it?” This is a great question because as soon as you ask yourself that, you’ll know all the steps you need to take that will make sticking to and achieving your goal a slam dunk.
My process and commitment
I’ve been ruminating over the goal I want to pick for November and December. I too have two rabbits that are hungrily staring up at me, demanding that they be fed. I’ve been doing all that I’ve shared in this post to decide on the path I want to tread.
As soon as I’m done with the inner process of deciding on the path ahead, I’m going to announce it publicly. I’ll also the share the reasons and the next steps I plan to take so that you have an understanding of how it all plays out in reality. Stay tuned! In the meantime, ask yourself if you are going after goals that draw from the same reservoir. If yes, then take the time to think through which of them you can pick first and go after full-force. You will always have the time to chase other juicy goals afterward. Remember, you can do anything but not everything. So pick a goal and do so wisely.