Ok, let’s be real here.
Setting big goals, let alone ACHIEVING them can be tough work.
I mean...can you really set a goal that ends up transforming your life? Whether it’s your looks, your career, your lifestyle perhaps?
To take on your life’s ambitions and to be able to see them come to fruition, may sound like a daunting, perhaps maybe not even worth it, sort of task. Sure, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
You see, Rome wasn’t built in a day. So if you think about it, to tackle these big, complex goals really depends on the bricks we place overtime, as the foundations to our outcome.
Below are 4 small steps, that if done properly, may find yourself making the biggest impact on your life.
1. Start with a heart-to-heart with yourself
Sit down and make time for yourself. Get away from your day to day tasks, commutes, the hustle and bustle and be honest with yourself. What is it that you want to achieve? What will enable you to express yourself the most? And why? How will achieving this change your life?
When you ask yourself these questions, you develop clarity towards a vision. By solidifying the path towards your vision, you’re no longer reluctant to step outside your comfort zone.
2. Take one small, SMART step daily towards your goal
Now with your long term goal insight, let’s break it down to make it seem like short term goals.
You really don’t have to make a huge amount of progress at once. But by taking one step on a daily basis that’s in alignment with your goal? That’s where the results lie (and they may even appear sooner than you thought).
So what type of small steps are we talking about?
Example 1: Writing a Book in a Year
Let’s say you want to write a book. You have around 15 to 20 minutes a day to spare. With the time you have, you can probably write up 150 words - 200 even - as long as you stay focused, of course. Not bad for writing half a page!
Ok sure, it doesn’t sound like much now. But if you add that up overtime...
Within a week, you’ll have 1,050 words.
A month? 4500 words.
After a year, you’ll have 54,600 words - that’s a whole right novel there.
Example 2: Starting An Online Business
Or let’s talk about something more business related.
Say you’ve been wanting to start an online business, but you’re not sure as to how. Perhaps you’re not as digitally-savvy as your kid - maybe you’ve only ever sent emails.
You’d like to take a course, but just don’t have the time to commit.
So let’s say you spend a chunk of your morning placing an ad, picking one that will take at most an hour to create. You’ll be investing 7 hours a week into your business, generating leads on a daily basis - and after a year, you’ll have spent over 360 hours on ad placement in the digital space.
I think it’s safe to say, that after hundreds of hours of practice, you’ll be a decent digital marketer.
Most goals can be tackled this way - big or small - and by simplifying them into smaller, more regular steps, you begin to experience the build up of these small daily investments, known as the ‘compounding effect’.
Which leads me to the next step...
3. Compounding new to your existing habits
It’s easy to introduce small steps into your life, but I’m sure you would agree that they start becoming easier to brush off. They start feeling unnecessary right?
I mean, the most difficult part of moving towards your goals is actually getting into the habit of taking these small steps consistently, that they become a non-negotiable part of your routine.
So rewind back to the online business.
Say you have your daily commute to work. Whether it’s driving or taking the morning bus to get there. You can’t change anything about that. But what you CAN do is start bringing smaller steps into these daily commutes.
So you’re on the way to work. You’ve got your phone nearby, a cup of coffee or tea beside you and the radio on. Instead of listening to the morning radio, what if you started listening to training podcasts on digital marketing?
Not only are you getting hundreds of hours of practice, but you’re constantly receiving tips and tricks about digital marketing on a daily basis. Talk about maximizing your potential growth there!
So as insignificant as they may feel, each tiny step you take is always one step closer to your goal and each step you don’t take will keep you exactly where you are.
4. Most Importantly: Measure Progress
This is probably the most simple yet crucial step when executing your goal.
Since your journey will involve taking a course of small steps overtime, it’s quite easy to overlook what you’ve actually accomplished.
Sure, it’s only a small chunk each day that you probably won’t need much to stay on track. But I’m sure we could all agree that procrastination is a bloody pain in the - you know what.
You could...
Build a “chain” of successes daily - also known as the ‘Seinfeld Strategy’.
Have a check-sheet for 3 to 5 small things you’d like to achieve each day.
Taking photo updates after each exercise everyday.
There are many different methods to measure your progress - some that might work better than others - but at the end of the day, small wins can be massive motivators but they are barely recognized.
By tracking your progress, as well as fulfilling all previous steps, you’ll be amazed with how far you’ve come and will excel when it comes to goal setting AND goal achieving.
Is there a goal that you’d like to achieve - or wanted to before - in your life, but haven’t had the time for?
If so, how would - or did - taking small steps, on a daily or almost-daily basis, get you there?
Comment below and tell us your story!