You Can't Win by Running Away

On January 20th, 1961 President Kennedy set the following 10X goal for the United States.
"We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills." Anticipating the doubters, he added this. "But why, some say, the Moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic?"

Skeptics may have wondered, why not tackle the poverty or debt issues of the day? After all, those would seem more "practical", right?

But when was the last time a "practical" goal inspired anyone to break the status quo and do something extraordinary? 

In setting this audacious goal, President Kennedy displayed a great understanding of human psychology—people are more creative, energized and motivated when approaching something they want rather than working to avoid something they don't. 

By setting this seemingly impossible goal he put the country in an approach mindset.

And it worked! On July 20th, 1969, the Apollo 11 accomplished what no other prior mission had. Neil Armstrong was the first man (believe it or not ;) to set foot on the moon.

The Apollo project energized the American public and spurred a technological revolution. Even the computer I'm typing on now was made possible because of advances made during the project.

We can leverage the energizing and liberating power of approach mindset in our lives.

Just the other day I woke up worried about some unexpected financial changes in my life that I have very little control over. Initially I was thinking of all the things I could do to avoid the future I didn't want. After several minutes of unnecessary stress I realized I was thinking about it all wrong. I needed to work from an approach mindset. 

Right then I flipped my mindset started thinking of what I really wanted and I immediately felt relief. Instead of feeling discouraged, I felt hopeful. Instead of feeling trapped, I felt liberated. And that's when my creative juices started flowing. Instead of reacting, I was creating.

When you work towards your goals from an approach mindset it's sort of like the difference between running from a hungry dinosaur or running towards a pot of gold. Though both are motivating, the emotional energy is entirely different. One means survival, the other represents freedom.

Most people I meet are living from a place of avoidance, trading their dreams for "security".

So today I invite you to make one simple flip...instead of running from the future you don't want, start running towards the future you do...or at least start walking.

You'll be amazed at the power of this simple flip.

It's time to start living your best life!