However,
did you know that only about eight percent of people
reach their goals? That's right! The other 92 percent fail within weeks or
months of establishing their dream content. According to researchers, what
differentiates the two comes down to one simple thing: setting specific and
challenging goals.
Don’t
let me get you confused however, this setting specific and challenging goals doesn't
mean you should try to do everything at once. In fact, trying to reach the stars is often a
recipe for failure. If you want to go
big, you have to think small. Break big
goals into smaller goals and start from there. Have you ever noticed this is the way MOST
things are done in our lives? You go to
the theater; the plays are broken into acts.
You watch a sporting event, they are broken into periods: sets,
quarters, innings, etc. If you even read
a book you will go from chapter to chapter until the conclusion. We generally understand the concept of this
idea of putting larger events (or goals) into small segments. It becomes more difficult when we try to
apply it to our personal lives.
So What
Would Be Wrong with “Thinking Big?”
We
keep hearing that we can accomplish anything we want, whether it's saving the
world or becoming an astronaut. Unfortunately,
that's unlikely to happen for most people. Sure, you could do it, but it will take years
of hard work. For this reason, it's
so important to take small steps toward your goals.
“We choose to go to the
moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not
because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve
to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that
challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to
postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.” So stated President John F. Kennedy at Rice
University in Houston, Texas on September 12, 1962. Many steps (smaller goals) were necessary to
make his statement a reality, but on July 16, 1969, astronauts from the Apollo
11 mission first placed human footprints on the surface of the moon. I was one of some 650 million people who
watched in suspense as Neil Armstrong descended the ladder of lunar module and
reportedly stated: “That’s one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.” Although there has been much debate as to his
actual wording my point here is that it took many years of planning and many
smaller goals to achieve this monumental goal.
The truth is, regardless of the scope of your visions,
what you need to do is to think big in detail. It's necessary to have detailed information,
plans, knowledge, and skills for your big goals to become a reality. That won't
happen overnight. It’s the in-between
steps from here to there that will make your ultimate goal successful.
A
big idea doesn't guarantee success. Anyone
can have ideas, but only a few can bring
them to life. When thinking big, it's
easier to miss the small details and make costly mistakes. If you fail, you'll feel disappointed and have
a hard time starting all over. But
remember, failure is part of the process of being successful. In your efforts to accomplish your ultimate
goal you have discovered (and hopefully learned) another method that WILL
NOT work! You move on to the events
that will provide a more positive result.
I am reminded of another statement by the late President Kennedy: “Only
those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
For
example, many people dream of building a million-dollar business. However,
they haven't yet learned how to make even $1. To succeed, think big in increments. Focus on making your first dollar, then your
first $100, then $1,000, and so on. If
you plan out your strategy one step at a time and then follow your plan, you’ll
find that you eventually reach your goal, although there may be some detours
along the pathway.
Change Your
Habits to Change Your Life
Whether you want to become the next Steve Jobs, launch
a successful project, or climb up the career ladder, you need to start with
baby steps. Swap any habits that hold
you back for habits that move you forward. Follow the same pattern you learned as a small
child. First you crawled, then you stood
and walked, and finally you were able to run.
The same principle applies to reaching any goals we have set for
ourselves.
Just
to consider one goal that many people have set (over and over again): lose
weight! Let's say you always
find excuses to skip your workout and you’re not “faithful” in following your
diet. By doing those things you'll never
manage to lose those extra pounds and get in shape.
Commit
yourself to hit the gym at least three times a week. Take it seriously just
like you do with your job or family time. A month later, schedule four workouts a week. In the meantime, make small changes to your
diet. Do one thing at a time. For instance, you could ditch the sugar during
week one, cut back on junk food the second week, cook your meals from fresh
ingredients the third week, and so on. Think
small to go big, and the results will follow!
The
principles (suggestions) mentioned above would apply to ANY goal we have
set for ourselves. It doesn’t matter
ultimately how LARGE the goal may be, the point is we must take the
details and put them into manageable smaller steps so we can achieve success
within each separate module of our event.
When this is done the large goal can be achieved in time. Our largest and most detrimental roadblock
will be OURSELF! We continue to
hinder ourselves because we’re only human!
QUOTE TO CONSIDER
"You don't have to see the top of the staircase.
Just move forward and take the first step!"
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