I’ve been thinking about this idea and how I’ve used baby steps to accomplish some major goals in my life the past few years. I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing at the time, but looking back now, I can see that the process was so simple. I followed this concept to finish my college degree, reach my weight goal, and run a half-marathon. I put together this list of the steps that work best for me when I want to achieve an extensive goal in my life.
1. Set the big goal first, but not a date. I’m sure by not setting a date, this information conflicts with other advice out there, but I simply move the completion date to a different step. When I decided to go back to school and finish my degree, I simply said, “It’s time to get the piece of paper hanging on the wall.” When I set my weight goal, I wrote it down. It is more important for me to first identify what I want my specific outcome to be.
2. Decide what smaller goals will enable the big goal. One of my big goals I’m working on now is to run a marathon. I started out over a year ago by making the decision to train for a 5K (3.1 miles) and then worked my way up to a half-marathon (13.1 miles) last December. The goal of running 26.2 miles is colossal in my mind. Fortunately, by adding a little extra distance each week of my training, the goal is achieved in manageable amounts. There are accomplishments along the way when I realize I’m now running farther than I ever have before.
3. After identifying the smaller goals, set deadlines. This is where I go back to the second part of Step 1. I pull in the dates for my small goals, and that helps me see the end date for the big goal. To finish school, I had an idea of how many hours I was going to take each semester, but I was still limited by my work schedule and the class schedule offered. When it came down to the last two semesters, I had my graduation date in sight. With my running goals, I found that if I register for a race, I’m more likely to stick to my training.
4. Celebrate the little accomplishments along the way. I didn’t wait until I reached my weight goal to buy some new clothes, but I didn’t replace my whole wardrobe either. I needed to reward my effort, but still have some motivation to keep going.
5. When the big goal is achieved, don’t stop there! This is when I look at the different areas of my life to see what I should work on next. I set new goals for myself and start the process over again. Two of my current goals (in addition to the marathon) include de-cluttering my house, and having some of my writing accepted for publication. Funny how the latter goal seems more achievable. It’s going to take a bunch of baby steps to have a clutter-free house, but one day my house will be in order.
What goals have you set for yourself lately? Have you found a different approach that works for you?
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