There’s the riddle that asks, how do you eat an elephant? The answer is one bite at a time. I think this is the same approach that we have to have when it comes to our goals. If you’ve ever worked on achieving a huge goal, you know that it doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, having the expectation that it will be easy or quick can be maddening when you realize that it’s not going to happen!
If you’re read my posts or heard me talk about goals before, you know that I’m an advocate for breaking goals down into manageable chunks and focusing on those. Think about what will feel more manageable to you – saving $5,000 this year or saving $105 a month? Sure that $100 might be a stretch, but probably feels a lot more doable than focusing on the final goal on a consistent basis.
Think about how much easier things would be if you broke your 90 day goals into 15 day chunks. What would you need to do in the next 2 weeks to help you get closer to the achievement of your goal? If saving a certain amount of money is your focus, then maybe it’s bringing your lunch to work or skipping that morning coffee shop visit. If shedding pounds is your focus, then maybe it’s setting up an exercise schedule for the next two weeks and setting a meal plan that works for you.
A lot of times we think about our goals but we don’t have a plan in place to make it happen. We think that one day we’ll get started, or we’re waiting for that elusive “perfect moment” to get to work. The truth of the matter is that if we want to achieve our goals, we have to get started today. There will always be a reason to not take action. If you keep making excuses for why you can’t or shouldn’t get started, then you have to ask yourself how important your goals are to you.
You don’t have to make big moves towards your goals immediately. Maybe you only save $25 or $50 the first week. Maybe you do a 20 minute workout your first time at the gym. You don’t have to start big, you just have to start! Once you do, you’ll be so glad you did. You’ll realize that it isn’t as hard as you thought it would be and you’ll be inspired and motivated to push yourself to do more.
What small step will you take today to bring you closer to realizing your dreams? ♥