We all do it.
We all make grandiose plans to achieve huge projects, massive to-do lists. Expecting achievement in mere hours. And then we get frustrated at the too-big goal pieces and abandon ship. The plans and lists gather dust, the goals go unachieved.
Why do we do it? Why do we start out strong and peter out when it all seems too big?
Because it IS too big. Large goal statements can seem really daunting.
Consider this example. Imagine you are buying a house. You don't just go and buy the first one you see with a For Sale sign. There are so many things to consider - how many bedrooms, bathrooms? What can you afford? How much remodeling work will you have to do? How big is the yard? What is the school system like? What are the town taxes? And on and on.
To complete the goal of buying a house, you would make a list of ALL the things you need to know and complete, and chunk it down into manageable pieces. Maybe one day you spend with your financial advisor on a budget. Maybe the next is spent researching the towns you want to buy in. And so on. By breaking a big goal like buying a house into smaller pieces, you can more easily see progress as you check off items toward that large achievement. Before you know it, you'll have a SOLD sign on your dream home.
The same can be said for any goal you are working on. Take the big, scary one - and make a list of all the possible steps needed to achieve the goal. You will see categories start to appear, just like the house buying steps. Then you can make smaller lists of like items to tackle. For me, nothing beats crossing off a list item. I literally write down or print out lists purely for the satisfaction of that cross-out line. And, I've achieved a step toward my goal. I'm in forward motion and can move on to the next list item.
Don't be scared of big goals. They are only daunting if you stop at that first line of "buy a house." Knowing the steps and chunking them down can help you achieve all the small goals toward the big one.
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