“Chew off a little every day, because it’s hard to swallow a whole pie at once.”
–Richelle E. Goodrich, Slaying Dragons
So, you have this big goal in mind. There are two VERY different ways to proceed. The first is the one that I did for many years – develop an aggressive action plan, then work 60 – 80 hours a week to make it happen. There are a couple of possible results from this strategy:
1.) You will burnout and give up or
2.) You reach it and are too exhausted to enjoy your accomplishment.
There is a better way: especially at the very beginning, the Lift-off phase: SMALLER is better. I can’t stress it enough – a strategy of small steady steps is the key to accomplishing big goals with ease. Many of us want to race headlong into lift-off. It is at the beginning of a new project that we are the most excited, prone to promise big results and often end up stalled, unable to move.
One reason is that it takes a lot of energy to begin something new. Like a rocket ship that uses 90% of its fuel just getting off the ground –that’s the way things go with a new project or goal. Taking small steady steps has been proven to be much more effective than attempting huge gains when first getting started. Plus, this strategy bypasses that stress inducing part of our brain, the amygdala, which gets activated at the very thought of anything big, new and different.
When I first began studying to be a coach, of the many things we were taught, the importance of taking small steady steps at the beginning of a new project is the one that stood out the most for me. I had often made things a lot harder than they needed to be by promising big gains at the beginning. I was one of those talented, successful and exhausted executives who I love to work with now.
So here’s my QUICK TIP: Look at the action plan you designed for that big goal that lights you up. Does it consist of small steady steps so you can deliver the results you have promised without killing yourself and driving everyone around you crazy? A plan you can implement with ease as opposed to a lot of struggle?
If so, great! If not, take some time to redesign it based on this valuable principle.
This article is an excerpt from Joan’s best-selling book, You’re Busy. I Get It. Quick Tips to Accomplish More with Less Stress. Available on Amazon and at www.joanwashburn.com.
