A Goal A Day

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

When I look at my list of 101 Goals, some of them seem downright daunting. Especially the long term goals. Some people have absolutely amazing ideas but they abandon their goal because it seems too overwhelming and they quit because they become discouraged. They have an achievable, attainable goal, they just don't know how to break it down into bite sized pieces.

For example: If you have a goal to start a business of your own, but you currently work a full time job, this approach is critical. If a larger goal seems to big or too overwhelming, and you really want it, the following is a great approach to keep you going after it.

Break down your large goal into many smaller bite sized goals. I call this approach the A Goal A Day method. It is very simple. You set and complete one small goal each day, everyday which will advance you towards your goal. This removes the feeling of being overwhelmed with your major goals. The focus is not on everything being perfect, the focus is on taking progressive steps.

On a foggy day, sometimes you can only see one block ahead of you at a time. However, if you walk one block forward, you can see one block further and if you walk another block, you can see another block further -until you get where you are going. If you do this one block at a time for ten blocks, you just walked one mile. It didn't seem like a lot because you broke it down into smaller steps.

You are not always going to have a complete detailed plan from start to finish for every goal when you are first getting started. That's okay. If you set your goals using this method, the accumulative effect will bring you closer each day and you will have genuine momentum. You can revise your plan as you go along.

Remember, this method requires at least one ACTION each day. Tasks such as cleaning your office or reading a book ARE necessary and important and make you feel good and keep you motivated, but they are not exactly the type of action that is going to propel you forward. You won't be able to see a measurable result. You can clean your office, read books every day and never be any closer to your goal. Busy work or is not what we are talking about. I know people who are extremely busy but they never make any progress towards their goals. They are just filling time aka killing time.So complete your result producing, momentum gaining goal for a given day and then clean your office after you're done.

For best results, plan your Goal A Day in advance, at least one week or perhaps even one month ahead. The reason for that is because if you wake up in the morning and then try to figure out what you are going to do, you are going to pick whatever is easy instead of what is truly going to advance you.

You can complete more than one goal a day, but the point to this approach is to complete AT LEAST one Goal per day. You will also be creating a new discipline. Research shows that it takes anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks (21+ days) to create a new habit. This approach also counteracts discouragement since there will be no stagnation that accompanies lack of consistent action (aka procrastination). This approach will provide you the ever important daily sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. In addition, this approach will help you enjoy the journey of pursuing your dreams.

Often a Coach can assist you with creating a plan that will save you time and money and help you prioritize your activities and achieve your goal in the fastest time.