Why Your Dreams Should Scare You: The Power of Exceeding Your Capacity.
Your dreams must exceed your current capacity. Stop playing small! Learn how to set goals that force growth and transform you into the person who wins.
We live in a world that loves “SMART” goals—specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. While there is a time and place for realism, there is a dangerous trap hidden within it. When we focus too much on what is “achievable” right now, we limit our future to the boundaries of our present.
​There is a quote that challenges this safety-first approach to life:
​”The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them.”
​At first glance, this sounds counterintuitive. Why set a goal you don’t have the skills, money, or network to achieve yet? Isn’t that setting yourself up for failure?
​Actually, it is the only way to ensure evolution. Here is why your dreams need to be bigger than your current reality.
1. The “Feasibility” Trap.
​Most people start with the question: “What do I know how to do?” and then build their dreams based on that answer.
​If you only set goals that match your current capacity, you aren’t really dreaming; you are just planning. You are simply rearranging what you already possess. True dreaming requires looking at a peak you cannot yet climb and deciding to go there anyway.
​If you know exactly how to achieve your dream right now, your dream is too small.
2. Growth Happens in the “Gap”.
The magic of this quote lies in the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
​If the gap is small: You remain comfortable. You use your existing skills. You stay the same person.
​If the gap is massive: You are forced to stretch.
​That gap creates a psychological demand. When your dream exceeds your capacity, it forces you to ask new questions. Instead of asking, “Can I do this?” you start asking, “Who must I become to do this?”
​This necessity drives you to learn new languages, master new technologies, build new relationships, and develop resilience. The dream pulls you forward, forcing you to grow into the person capable of achieving it.
3. Capacity is Fluid, Not Fixed.
We often make the mistake of viewing our “capacity” as a fixed tank of gas. We think we only have so much fuel to get somewhere.
​But human capacity is like a muscle—it expands under tension. You do not wait until you are strong enough to lift heavy weights; you lift heavy weights to become strong.
​By setting a dream that is currently “impossible” for you, you are unknowingly signing up for a training program that will expand your capacity.
​How to Apply This to Your Life:
​If you want to live by this quote, here are three steps to shift your mindset today:
Audit Your Goals.
Look at your current 5-year plan. If you look at it and think, “Yeah, I can definitely do that,” it’s time to rewrite it. Increase the scale until you feel a slight knot of fear in your stomach. That fear is your compass—it means you’ve found the edge of your growth zone.
Fall in Love with the “How”.
Stop worrying that you don’t have the roadmap yet. The “how” reveals itself after you commit to the “what.” Trust that you will figure it out along the way.
Focus on Identity, Not Just Output.
Don’t just ask what you want to get. Ask who you need to be.
​Does the version of me who achieves this dream wake up at noon?
​Does the version of me who achieves this dream avoid difficult conversations?
Start acting like that future version of yourself today.
The Takeaway:
Don’t shrink your dreams to fit your current reality. Expand your reality to fit your dreams.
​It is okay to be afraid. It is okay to feel unqualified. In fact, it is required. If your dream doesn’t demand that you grow, it isn’t serving you. Let your reach exceed your grasp, and watch how much you grow in the process.
