There’s a little-known fact that the section of The ONE Thing called “Big is Bad” almost didn’t make the final cut of the manuscript. It wasn’t until getting some last-minute buy-in from everyone involved in the project that it was placed back in the book for publication. And that wasn’t as easy as you might think. 

We always seem excited by the prospect of bigger things: big houses, big lives, big careers – but the reality of “BIG” can, at times, be paralyzing and prohibitive. Building a big life means challenging ourselves and risking control. “Big” takes on a life of its own, looms overhead, and seems like an exhausting and risky mountain to climb. 

To be honest, “Big is Bad” is not a limiting belief we’re likely to encounter until we’re faced with the tough decision between moving forward or staying put. It’s more common on the path toward success as opposed to something people face in the beginning.  

To be honest, we all find the prospect of BIG to be a little terrifying. In fact, this fear is so common psychologists even coined a term for it: megaphobia. What’s important isn’t whether or not we consider the concept to be terrifying, it’s that when faced with a choice to grow or stagnate, we have the courage to press on. 

You Don’t Know Your Limits

People aren’t always the best at objectively knowing themselves. And, when we’re already uneasy about the idea of something, it can be incredibly easy to assume our goals are beyond our capabilities. So, instead of trying to stretch ourselves we simply go for the low-hanging fruit. After all, if we set our sights on a goal that seems manageable, we’ll be certain to accomplish something.

But accomplishing something easy isn’t where growth and big results lie. 

In The ONE Thing, we ask the question: Do you know what your limits are?

The answer is: you don’t. And you’ll never find them if you simply aim for the smallest, easiest achievements. Instead, we need to focus on the larger realm of possibilities. For instance, if you’re in sales and you want to set a goal for selling more this year – five more units seems like a very appealing goal. It’s definitely something you know you can manage. But it also sets a ceiling on how much you’ll achieve.

But what if you decide you’re going to become a salesman who sells 100 extra units this year? That’s a much larger goal to hit and it requires more serious thought and commitment, an adjustment of strategy, and new, stronger habits.  

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent shows us that the answer to getting bigger results comes from setting bigger goals. 

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, page 70

Setting BIG goals and aiming for a BIG target changes our mindset in ways that helps us achieve far more than we initially thought was possible. 

By raising your ceiling of achievement, you’re giving yourself more room to grow. Sure, you may not hit 100 sales – but what if you end up selling 75? That’s 70 more than the five you would’ve originally sold. Moreover, you’re pushing yourself to expand your business. 

There’s a saying that I’m sure many people are familiar with: “shoot for the moon because, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” The same holds true for the goals we set for ourselves. If we only ever think small, we’ll never find our potential. 

But if we set goals that are big, even if we don’t meet them, we’re allowing ourselves to fully stretch and find our limits. Moreover, once we start testing our limits, we often find they aren’t limits at all. They’re just obstacles on our way to bigger, better things. Because when you accomplish big things your life, your abilities, and your outcomes get bigger, too.

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