Any goal has the potential to change your life -- a huge, maybe overwhelming, prospect. Even if it’s positive, that kind of change can be intimidating.
Almost anything you want to accomplish can be achieved in small, repetitive, on-going decisions and actions.
The goals may feel big, but the choices, the actions, the steps that fulfill them are usually relatively tiny.
And those little pieces are incredibly doable.
Define the Pieces
- Can you break down your goal into its smallest basic component action?
- What’s the common denominator action that shows up as a requirement every time you work on your goal?
- If you engage your goal every week, what do you need to make happen each week?
- If you work on your goal daily, what’s the one action you'll need to do every day?
Example: If your goal is to write a book, the smallest basic component action may be writing a page. It doesn’t matter if you write a novel or a memoir or a blog post. It doesn’t matter if you write every day or every week -- there’s some part of this series of small, repetitive actions that looks the same every time.
An action is something that a camera can capture you doing.
There you are, sitting down in front of your computer, typing something every day. There you are, sitting at your favorite cafe every Saturday morning with your Moleskine notebook on your lap, scribbling something.
The schedule, the frequency, and the duration of the action can be customized and will vary from one person to the next, but it can always be broken down to:
- you
- doing something, somewhere
- over and over again
Accomplishment rarely hinges on “ability” or “talent.”
The real issues are perseverance and patience -- the repetitive forms of attitude. If you don’t have a clue where to begin... start by showing up once.
If you're having a hard time creating momentum see: What's Your Motivation Momentum Before Inspiration Do It Again
Image credit Jared Tarbell via Creative Commons on Flickr