How do you break a big goal down into easier steps? I recently read a story about a lady who had lost a lot of weight, and the way she did it was to focus on just 24hrs at a time. Think about that… What if you changed your goals into 24hr goals. So instead of setting a goal of losing 10lbs by a certain date, you break it down into a 24hr goal of keeping your sugar intake under a certain level. Or how about setting a goal to move for at least 30 min in the next 24 hrs. What about the goal of writing 2 pages each day, or reading one chapter in a book? Whatever your goal is, could you break it down into 24hr goals. Doesn’t that feel so much more manageable?
A little bit of action each day keeps you moving towards that larger goal. You might even find that you go above and beyond your daily goal each day because it’s easier to achieve. The daily goal keeps you moving, and that is the key. Too many goals or resolutions are lost when you stop taking action or hit that wall of feeling overwhelmed. Small, more easily achievable goals take away the fear of not being able to reach the goal. One bad day doesn’t turn into a string of bad days, which makes you give up trying towards the larger goal. If you miss a daily goal, it’s just one day. You set a new goal the next day. Day after day turns into month after month, and before you know it – you’ve lost weight, toned up, written a book, cleared out the house, or whatever else your goal was.
Achieving a smaller goal each day leads to a celebration each day and a feeling of achievement versus the potential to feel like you are not making enough progress on a larger goal. Each day starts anew with a new goal to achieve. It keeps you motivated and focused. Feeling off one day, set a smaller goal that day. Feeling super motivated, make it a stretch of a larger goal that day. Find a way to make it fun instead of this looming task that can feel overwhelming. Focus on the reason you want to achieve that goal instead of just the goal. Why do you want to lose weight- to feel better, to have more energy to play with your kids, to live longer, to have more adventures? Focus on the feeling or the state you are trying to achieve. What is your “why” for the goal? The little goals will add up to the larger ones over time.
Pro tips:
Use a planner to keep you on track each day where you can write down your goal.
Don’t work on more than 3 goals at a time.
Print out a calendar that shows all the days of the year on one page, and highlight or add a sticker to the days when you achieve your goal.
Plan rewards for benchmarks that you reach, like buy a new outfit when you lose 5 lbs or plan a nice meal after finishing writing a chapter of a book.
Find an accountability partner that will check in with you and keep you from giving up on your goals. They can be working towards a similar goal, or just be someone that wants to see you succeed and will keep you to your commitment to take action.
Celebrate your small wins just like you would the big ones so you have gratitude for all the accomplishments you achieve each day.
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