You might be wondering “is it possible to boil the ocean?” It sounds ridiculous, but that’s why I’m here to explain how it’s possible to boil the ocean and the possibility that you’ve been doing it.
When you try to boil the ocean, then it means you are too ambitious, in a little time. Just like trying to sweep the dust and dirt from the desert.
Let me tell you a little experience of mine.
Many years ago, I was this guy with so much positivity and optimism. You know, the age where you get to dream big dreams and set goals that are unrealistic.
So for years, I kept being too ambitious, and guess what? I ended up not achieving most of my ambitions.
I will set goals that are not possible to achieve. And that’s the mistake that most people make -including myself. Because we want to challenge ourselves, we then take to setting goals that are just not realistic, with a short deadline.
So, knowing this fact, I searched my life for the signs that show the extent to which I’ve been boiling the ocean. And now, I’ve been able to source out three (3) vital signs.
1. You become physically fatigued, by trying to boil the ocean
Trying to achieve something that’s too ambitious, in a short time, is like literally taking a kettle to boil the ocean.
You will be stressed out and tired of the whole process.
And when this happens, you might lose the overall enthusiasm and energy to chase your other goals.
Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be ambitious and highly motivated to chase your goals. What I’m saying here is that it’s acceptable for you to break down your ambitions into steps and processes.
When you become too ambitious, but you don’t have steps to break it down, then it’s like you are trying to boil the ocean.
Even if you literally try to boil the ocean, and you break it into steps, you and your next 50 generations can’t complete it. So this means that even some ambitions, when broken down into steps and processes, can still be unrealistic and not achieved.
One of the end results of trying to boil the ocean?
Physical exhaustion, fatigue, and Stress.
So, if you have been experiencing extreme physical fatigue, because you are trying to chase your ambitions, and it’s not even getting better, then you need to recheck your ambitions. You need to recheck your goals.
I needed to sit down and think hard because it got to a time that I wasn’t chasing my ambitions anymore. I was punishing myself, and I didn’t even realize it fast.
Suggested: Be Ambitious With Your Goals and Be Patient With Your Deadlines
When you become too ambitious and you expect to achieve your goals within a very short period of time, then you will start to punish yourself and it will have nasty consequences on the physical aspect of your life, in the long run.
2. Emotional exhaustion
Just like physical fatigue, emotional exhaustion is more critical.
When you try to boil the ocean, you won’t be prepared for what’s going to hit you emotionally. And some emotional defects like worry, fear, anxiety, and depression might take over you.
Something that I’ve noticed about human behavior is that when we are not able to accomplish a particular ambition (whether realistic or non-realistic) then our mind automatically enters a state I call “Downstate”
Trying to boil the ocean, is tampering with your emotional and mental life.
I said earlier that some ambitions are not possible to achieve, even if you try to create steps and processes. This is a bitter truth that not everyone wants to hear.
Our present society might have brainwashed you that, you can achieve anything you want to achieve. And even when you set unrealistic goals, and don’t achieve them, then you feel like a failure. You feel depressed and down, because you believe that it’s expected of you and society expects you always to be successful even when you set unrealistic ambitions and goals.
Let’s quickly look at what unrealistic ambitions and goals are.
Unrealistic ambitions are the ambitions or life goals that are beyond your reach and can’t be achieved.
Note: Realistic goals can be achieved. Unrealistic goals can’t be achieved.
For example:
Realistic goal: You want to travel to space in 2022
Unrealistic goal: You want to be the first person to travel to planet Pluto and start up a family there in 2022
While one is ambitious, the other example is too ambitious. Even if you follow all due processes, you will never get to Pluto and start up a family there in 2022.
It’s good to dream big realistic dreams and goals. But it’s terrible to dream unrealistic dreams and goals.
Fantasies are examples of unrealistic goals. Something that has a 99.9% chance of not coming true.
And if you spend a lot of your time trying to achieve unrealistic goals, then you might waste a significant period of your life that you aren’t going to get back. You will also have a high risk of emotional draining and exhaustion.
3. You become selfish to yourself
Do you know that it’s possible for you to become selfish to yourself?
Absolutely!
I love using myself as examples and I’m going to do so now.
During the periods of me wanting to achieve a lot of unrealistic things at such little times, I ended up neglecting myself.
It’s just like trying to chase happiness when you are the happiness!
I will spend hours, days, months, just to “follow my unrealistic goals,” I thought I was doing well, and I really thought I was making headway.
Have you ever focused on something so much, that you won’t realize that you are neglecting yourself?
That’s what happens when you boil the ocean. You focus on the “task at hand” so much that you become selfish to yourself. And what’s the benefit anyway? It’s not like something good will come out of chasing unrealistic goals.
So it’s a double effect. You don’t get any benefits from the unrealistic goals and you suffer the consequences of neglecting yourself.
What I’ve noticed is that, when I even try to venture into something, let’s say a business, and that business just isn’t meant for me, then I classify it as unrealistic.
Another meaning of unrealistic goals to me is when I do something that isn’t meant for me. If I try to do something that I shouldn’t do, then I put it under the umbrella of unrealistic goals.
This is one of the 3 signs that you’ve boiled the ocean. You become selfish to yourself and that can have nasty effects on your life.
Conclusion
This is a subject that most people might not like to read, because of its brutal truth.
But you are here reading this today, and it’s not by mistake.
There’s a reason you are reading this right now.
If you’ve been trying to boil the ocean, by being over-ambitious and setting unrealistic goals, then these are the key signs/symptoms that you should watch out for.
If you want to set unrealistic goals, then you must be ready to act extraordinary and way above your belief.
I once experienced these signs personally. You won’t find an article like this anywhere else, because it’s deeply from my experiences of these 3 signs that I’ve boiled the ocean.
I’m here for you if you need help to stop trying to boil the ocean. Just leave a message for me below or use the contact form to reach me.