Achieving Big Goals Takes a Series of Baby Steps
If we are serious about achieving a big goal, we need to make it measurable and break it down into a realistic timeframe to take reachable baby steps each day.
(I feel like that sentence is one hundred percent tweet-able!)
Goal setting can be overwhelming, especially when we are trying new, scary things; like a side hustle, starting a blog or podcast, mending a relationship, changing careers, moving to a new place, getting healthy, giving up bad habits, etc, etc. Instead of overwhelm, let’s talk about breaking the goal into baby steps.
Sometimes when we begin to move out of our comfort zones, we think we must take a big leap or run fast toward that big thing. Rather than running, let us slow down and think strategically about how to move toward the thing instead of trying to get there all at once.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.
That is why it is best to have a measurable goal.
If we aren’t setting a goal that we can measure, we are making it easy to fail. I have done this myself time after time. In fact, I have some goals right now written down in my bullet journal that aren’t measurable enough, and guess what? I am not working on them and I’m certainly not achieving them.
So let’s do this together by taking baby steps toward our goals.
We will break down the process into the following 7 baby steps:
- Make the goal realistic and measurable, including a time frame.
- Break down the goal into small manageable steps.
- Write down those steps, and repeat that process for each step! Make it simple enough for a child to do.
- Now reverse engineer those steps into your timeframe. Doing this may let you see more ways to break down and simplify the steps even more.
- Now, look at that first, small step you can do today to get a quick win!
- That small thing may not seem like much, but write it down, do the thing, and mark that off the list.
- Celebrate the win! You’ve taken your first baby step toward your big goal.
Now you have momentum and you can continue with each small thing, taking the next baby step.
One key point that is most important is to document the series of steps into a calendar or planner.
- I use my trusty bullet journal and love to incorporate fun stickers, These goal setting stickers are perfect from Erin Condren.
Schedule each small thing into your day.
Set reminders.
Block off those small increments of time to complete the task.
- Again, Erin Condren. This hourly planner is perfect to write out your steps.
Make it your priority!
This may seem like overkill, but when life outside of the goal starts becoming overwhelming, you will have your plan in place and you can continue to take those simple baby steps each day.
If the goal you have is important enough, the time you spend planning on the front end will pay off. If it is not important enough to you to do this work on the front end, then you might want to re-evaluate the goal. That is not necessarily a bad thing. There may be another area of your life that needs attention before this goal becomes priority.
If you have evaluated your life areas recently to find your key priority, you can download my guide here:
Setting ourselves up to complete simple, small baby steps each day gives us forward progress.
Not planning for success is detrimental to our goals. Big goals are overwhelming. Make it so simple that it’s too hard to quit. Track it daily and celebrate progress over perfection.
I invite you to check out this post if you want to start your own simple bullet journal
Try a full Erin Condren Life Planner if you prefer a traditional planner.
Extra Reading about Baby Steps to Success
This short article about Jerry Seinfeld’s simple way to success is golden. It is exactly the type of strategy it takes to achieve a goal. Don’t break the chain!
Remember, taking baby steps adds up to a giant leap over time toward achieving a goal. Be excited about the journey!
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.
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