“Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines.”
~ Brian Tracy
Good morning everyone! And what a surprise to wake up to this rainy weather here, after weeks of pretty nice days. But the plants are happy! And I am too, as rainy days seem to foster my creative spirit. With Spencer still off on his ski trip, and no villa guests in this week, this should leave me with a string of uninterrupted days to really focus on some projects that keep getting sidelined. We’ll see where the creativity flows ….
So I woke up this morning thinking more about decision making. And how important it is that we break our thinking and actions for change down into manageable steps.
Yesterday, I was helping a client finish off some pretty nasty end of year accounting. One of the accounts had not been reconciled for the entire year, and the detail reports did not tie out to the balance. My client did not know where to begin, and thinking about tackling it definitely created lots of anxiety.
So where did I start? At the beginning. Month by month, we analyzed the reports and the totals. Until finally we hit a month where everything went haywire. It took me close to an hour, reviewing each of the suspect figures, until finally all culprits for adjusting lay squarely on the pages in front of us.
This is one thing that accounting over the years has taught me: You must break it down! There is no other way to go about it. And the only difference between myself and my client is experience, which instills self confidence and belief.
I know from many, many reconciliations in the past that the answer will reveal itself, if only taken in a step-by-step process. So I wasn’t afraid to just get started and dig in.
Plateau by plateau, we conquered the mountain.
As I thought about what accounting has taught me, I realize how important this technique is to virtually all creative decision making processes.
Establishing small, reachable goals, helps us reach larger goals in the long run. This is not only true of accounting, but of every single successful project I’ve ever undertaken: From website design, to starting a business, to turning unfinished homes into luxury vacation rentals. Certainly, there were lofty goals and often deadlines involved, but to keep out of overwhelm, it was essential that the project be broken down into smaller, manageable goals and steps.
I googled to see what others out there had to say about it, and came across an excellent article over at Forbes.com entitled “Why thinking small is the big secret to success”.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/lewishowes/2012/07/06/why-thinking-small-is-the-secret-to-big-success
The author writes: “When we set large goals, we are requiring ourselves to also have an equally large belief system to support it. It doesn’t matter how much we “want it” or how much we “proclaim it” – all that matters is how much we BELIEVE it. It’s this true belief that affects all of our actions.
Big Goals + Small Belief =
1. We set a BIG goal (usually the same goal we’ve been promising ourselves for years)
2. We tell ourselves “I just need to get more motivated” or “I’ve really got to want it this time”
3. We map out what we need to do
4. We take a couple steps…
5. Then SPLAT! We face our first trial or miss our first deadline and spiral off course.
What’s the solution? Since the traditional method for goal setting will always be hampered if we lack belief, simply start with a super small goal. Something you KNOW you can accomplish. This is completely different than breaking a goal down into smaller pieces – Make a small goal.
“The reasoning behind this is quite simple. You need momentum, and nothing builds momentum like getting a few wins under your belt.”
“The purpose of these smaller goals is not to get you closer to your goal, but to develop the skill of belief. The belief that you can accomplish goals – not steps.”
So here’s the task for today:
1. Review all of the goals you’ve set in the past, but did not accomplish. I know you have a list, because I do too
2. Identify ONE goal from that list that you’d still like to accomplish.
3. Boil it down to a smaller goal – one that you can accomplish in 3-7 days.
4. Take action and complete it.
5. Pick another small goal.
6. Get it done.
7. Do this until you’ve got 3-5 completed goals under your belt. Each of which are a little bigger than the one before it.
Pretty soon, you’ll start to see your dream, your vision, come into shape, right before your very eyes. Then you’ll have the belief to see it through to completion.
I’d love to hear what small goal you’ve set ❤
You’ll be seeing mine in a couple of days time ….
