I just bought seeds for my veggie garden yesterday. Each packet has the number of days it takes for the plant to come to fruition printed on it. If only our big dreams were like that! But good things take time and smaller steps along the way. We'd never expect to plant our garden one day and be productive the next, so why do we look at our big dreams that way?
Small goals are the unsung heroes in personal achievement and growth. Reaching our goal of having a productive, edible garden is broken down into smaller steps. We select seeds, plant them, water them, weed them, fertilize them, till them, and do our best to keep the critters from destroying our progress. Each step is manageable, promising, and ultimately rewarding.
Why Small Goals Are Essential
In 2016, I received my first $60,000 check for a job we did over the summer. It felt like a dream come true! That year, we netted over $100,000, and I hadn’t even realized I had achieved it. I had set a goal, but I had taken my focus off the outcome and instead focused on the little things I could do.
Sticking with the gardening analogy, creating small goals is like selecting the perfect seeds for your garden: easy to sow, satisfying to watch grow, and before you know it, you're harvesting the rewards. It's not just about simplifying the process but cultivating a strategy to have that big, productive garden.
The Psychology of a Sprouting Seed
If you garden, you know there's an undeniable thrill in seeing those first sprouts breaking through the soil. Regularly nurturing these sprouts into thriving plants keeps morale high by feeding our desire for visible progress. When we procrastinate and don't tend to our garden, weeds grow. Before we know it, they've taken over the garden. It's overwhelming and takes a lot of time to catch up, but taking care of small daily tasks will make the garden manageable. Each phase of growth they go through feels like a mini victory for me. And so it goes for small goals.
If seeing those green sprouts isn't rewarding enough, consider setting up a system of small indulgences for yourself. A moment soaking up the sun, a relaxing stroll through your local nursery, or any activity that fills you with joy can be the perfect reward for a series of well-tended goals.
Flexibility
Life has a tendency to throw us the unexpected. A sudden thunderstorm, an unseasonal frost. The advantage of setting bite-sized bite-sized goals is the flexibility it affords. When conditions change, adjusting how we care for a small handful of plants is easier than changing our gardening strategy. It's like having a detailed planting guide rather than relying solely on unpredictable weather. With small goals, you can adjust your tactics to ensure each task gets the attention it deserves, regardless of the challenges that pop up.
Exercise: Set Some Mini Goals
I know a photographer who says, "You won't capture anything if you don't raise your camera up and shoot." Whether you're going for those big goal whales or small goal fish, you won't get either if you don't start putting theory into practice. Here's a simple exercise to kick-start your goal-setting.
Step 1: Dream Big, Then Shrink It
Write down one large goal you have. Now, break it down into smaller pieces until you have a list of smaller goals that feel doable daily or weekly.
Step 2: The Rule of Six
From your list, pick six mini-goals to focus on for tomorrow. Ensure they're diverse and manageable. Six are easy enough to remember. Any more than that can feel overwhelming.
Step 3: Plan of Attack
For each smaller goal, jot down a simple action plan. What exactly will you do? When? How will you ensure it gets done? This may require getting up an hour earlier than everyone else in your house, skipping an hour of Netflix, or dropping your kid off with Grandma for a bit. I've seen people go to a gym with childcare, then walk on a treadmill and write on their phone, just so they had an hour to focus.
Step 4: Accountability Buddy
Tell someone about your six mini-goals for the day - a family member or friends. Better yet, find someone willing to join you as they set goals for themselves. There's strength in numbers and accountability, but this isn't just about accountability. It's about turning your growth into a celebration with the people who clap loudest for you, where you cheer for each other's wins and support each other during challenges. That group chat should be alive, it'll be buzzing so much!
Step 5: Reflect and Reward
At the end of each day, take a moment to reflect on what you've accomplished. Reward yourself for your achievements, no matter how small. Did you complete all six? Great! Only managed four? Still great! This is a no-fail exercise; it's all about progress. Those other two will just float over to tomorrow's list.
Incorporating small goals into your daily life can be a game-changer, turning the whale (big ole salmon?) of a dream into something achievable. It's about making progress, one sushi roll at a time, until one day you look up and you've eaten the whole dang salmon.
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