Today I am going to share with you a story about what some have called “the worst blunder in the history of college football“.
This story contains a lesson for us all about a seldom discussed topic: the dark side of goal setting.
Yes, you read that right.
Read on to learn more. 🙂
On New Year’s Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played the University of California in the Rose Bowl.
It was a typical game with no specific reason for it to be memorable.
That is until UC center, Roy Riegels, recovered a fumble for California.
After evading some of the Georgia Tech tacklers, he started running sixty-five yards.
But there was one problem: he was going in the wrong direction.
Worse yet, he didn’t even know it.
Luckily, just before Riegels was about to score for Georgia Tech, one of his own teammates tackled him landing on the one yard line.
How would you feel if that was you?
I’ll reveal Riegels’ reaction in a minute.
But first, I want you to realize something most of us overlook.
You’re Amazing
We are amazing beings that live on a miraculous planet.
Think about this.
We aren’t passive beings who just have things happen to us, we have the ability to be active and create the life we and others experience.
This means something pretty amazing that we often take for granted.
It means we can:
- Choose a goal
- Come up with a plan
- Get the help of others
- Persist and tweak the plans
- And finally see our goals come into reality!
It’s pretty amazing when you think about it.
Many people who succeed and achieve a lot in life realize this ability and live their lives on purpose, with purpose.
The Dangerous Part of Setting Goals
But there’s a dark side that isn’t usually mentioned.
It’s this…
You CAN become and do almost anything you set your mind to!
- That means you can achieve goals that will actually destroy you one day.
- You can set goals that will fill your life with things but still leave you feeling empty.
- You can accomplish things that can end up hurting others.
Let me say it this way…
You can become wealthy, powerful, famous, (fill-in-the-blank)… and STILL fail in life!
Goal Discrimination
Don’t misunderstand me.
I’m NOT telling you not to set goals. Please DO!
Please don’t just wait for things to happen.
Go for things you’re afraid you’ll fail at. Aim high!
But don’t be deceived into thinking “If I succeed at all my goals, or what people say my goals should be, then I will have lived a successful life.”
That’s not true.
Let me tell you, what most people won’t.
It doesn’t just matter that you set goals this year. It matters WHAT goals you set.
You must be discerning and discriminating in your goal setting.
Choose them carefully and wisely.
Why?
Because you just might accomplish them.
And you might end up scoring the wrong touchdown.
Riegels’ Reaction
Now let’s get back to the UC/Georgia Tech game.
Are you wondering what Roy Riegels reaction was to making that embarrassing play?
Let me show you.
But more importantly, you’ll want to hear his coach’s reaction…
They say that as half-time came to an end everyone but Riegels got up to leave the locker room.
He didn’t budge.
He reportedly said to his coach, “Coach, I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you, I’ve ruined myself, I’ve ruined the University of California. I couldn’t face that crowd to save my life.”
His coach replied, “Roy, get up and go back out there — the game is only half over.”
If you’ve realized you’ve been running toward the wrong goal(s) in life, don’t give up.
Get up and get back in the game.
There’s still time to play.
Photo by Plutor
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I’m a business strategist, consultant, content creation specialist, and speaker. I’ve been studying effective marketing and business methods (both online and offline) since 1999.
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