I don’t know about you but I have been so guilty of biting off more than I could chew. When it comes to my goals, I tend to think big. I think this is a good thing. What I do next is where I get stuck. Because I try to tackle the whole thing all at once. No bueno. I mean, who sits down to eat a whole cake instead of going slice by slice? In many cases… this girl! I’ve gotten better with realistic goal setting though.
When we sit down to eat the whole unsliced pound cake you know what happens? We get overwhelmed. That’s a lot of cake, yo! When you get overwhelmed it’s easier to just give up and throw the whole cake away. Then comes the guilt of feeling like a failure because you didn’t meet the goal. When the truth is the goal is totally reachable, you just went about it the wrong way. I think it’s a downfall of the overly ambitious – if that’s such a thing.
Big Goals Made Simple
What I learned is I needed smart goal setting so that I made goals I could stick to. But that didn’t mean changing my goals but it meant changing my goals. Let me explain. If I wanna write a book, I don’t sit down and write the whole thing in one sitting. Crazy! Instead I make a plan. Maybe I need to do an outline first. Then, set a schedule and some deadlines for how much I want to get done and when. So it’s the same goal, it’s just approached in a way that’s less likely to leave me feeling like *womp womp*.
Setting goals is always good and necessary. I mean, how else are we supposed to move forward and live our best lives? The important thing is setting goals you can stick to. You can start by setting some simple goals. Think about the book example. The book is the big goal. The simple goal is getting that outline done.
Making the goals simple make the big goal seem more realistically doable. I have a few ideas to help follow through on the simple goals so that you reach the big ones.
- If the simple goal means an appointment is needed. Schedule it.
- Write it down. Make a checklist of your simple goals. If it’s not written down, it’s not real.
- Get others involved. I’m a fan of public accountability. I have been known to put things on Facebook. I know a friend on there will follow up with me about what I’ve posted.
- Find extra help online. You can search Meet Up groups and Facebook groups to help support you in reaching your goals.
- There’s an app for that. There’s literally an app for everything. Find one to help with your goals.
- Set milestones for yourself. Then celebrate when you reach them.
