image courtesy of: http://defyingshadows.com/

            Lately we have been looking at our goals for the year and how we can modify our behavior and our outlook to make sure that this year we actually achieve those goals. The next step in this process is to take small steps. No matter how large our goals are for the year, no matter how far we wish to go, the path there is built upon small steps that, we added together, create the large change.  Therefore, the step for today is to take a step.

            The mind is a tricky thing to deal with, but knowing some of its tricks will help us avoid some pitfalls along the way. One of those tricks is that when we look at a large goal or task, our minds have a habit of getting discouraged, or locking up. This means that every time we look at our big goals for the year, we sabotage our ability to achieve them. This is not to say that we should not have those big goals, but rather that we shouldn’t judge our progress against the entirety of the goal all the time.

Instead, when we create our giant goals, we should sit down and create a roadmap of how to get to those goals. Set out the steps that we need to make every day to achieve those goals. This can be as simple as making 1 additional sales call everyday if we want to increase our sales, our walk an extra 5 minutes every day to help lose weight. Now, when we get up in the morning and start to move towards our goals, we can look at the single step that we need to take that day, instead of the huge goal, and get that step done. A single step like this is easy and inconsequential to our brains and this allows us to get that step done and keep going. The benefit in this is that it moves us along the road towards those giant goals at a steady pace and we are not being daunted and discouraged by looking all the way to the end of the road.

Another tactic to help us reach our goals is to forget about the end goal after you have set out your roadmap. Just forget about it! Remove the temptation to look at that end goal and just focus on the steps that you are taking to get to that goal. Then, down the line near the end of the year, look up from the steps that you are taking and see how you have progressed on your major goal. If you have been taking those steps every time you set them out for yourself and create a logical and accurate roadmap for yourself at the beginning, you will find that you have progressed a great way towards your huge and sometimes scary goal! You will have accomplished what you set out to do without the pain and frustration at seeing little to no progress each day as you compared yourself to that giant goal. Instead, you put your head down, did the little steps, and now are at your goal without all that additional stress and those opportunities to step away from the path.

So what steps are you putting before you on your roadmap to take each day, or each week so that you can forget about that giant, intimidating goal? Maybe these little steps are how you will make today fantastic!

Life’s Too Short to Have Bad Days! What are You Doing to Make Today Fantastic?