How many times has this happened to you? You decide you’re going to make a major change in your life for the better. Maybe it’s a decision to lose weight. Or to get in shape by working out. It could be something that’s work related, like resolving to go back to school to get your degree in order to earn a higher income. You set your mind on the goal, and you’re all excited about it, but after a few weeks or months you give up, discouraged, because the end seems so far away. The project is just too daunting. If you’re like most people, you’ve had this kind of experience more than once. And the reason that this is so common is that long term goals tend to be overwhelming. You need to break them down into short term goals.
Think of your short term goals as baby steps on your way to completing the really big one. And stay focused on the smaller goal as you make steady progress. Yes, you want to remember the ultimate prize, but don’t dwell on your big dream too much. Just focus relentlessly on achieving each small step on your way to the finish line. When you do this, your chances of making your big goal happen go through the roof.
In fact, this is one of the secrets of marathon runners. If you’ve never run a marathon, the thought of running for 26 miles straight would overwhelm you. Well, guess what? It overwhelms a lot of people who’ve run countless marathons, too. But they train themselves to not think of the finish line, but focus only on the next mile marker. These markers become their short term goals. Can you imagine running for two hours straight and then dwelling on the thought that you still had 19 miles to go? If most marathoners thought that way, they would never finish the race. So take a lesson from them, and break your huge goals into smaller ones, and focus on achieving them. Before you know it, you’ll be headed down the stretch of reaching your long term goal.
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“Baby Step Your Way”.
Right On!
That is exactly the principle I’ve incorporated into my new goal-setting software: http://habitshaper.com
It takes your goal, suggests a super-easy starting point, and gets a tiny bit harder each day.