What is the connection between small details and great progress? You will see in a minute. You might have realized
that whenever you really want to achieve something (=you are extremely
motivated to get a certain thing) you can be very creative and are able to come
up with several plans in order to realize your dream. Your goal can be either big or
small; it does not really matter whether we are talking about losing weight, getting
your dream-bag or dream-job. Due to your increased level of motivation, you are
enthusiastic and pro-active: you are working on your little project whenever
you can; you try to do everything to get what you want.
It is important to catch yourself as soon
as you are the most motivated because then you can really work hard and you can
save energy and willpower for times when you are not so enthusiastic or are a
bit down. For this reason, it is ideal to separate your big aim into small
steps. It is always better to start with small and easy because you are more
likely to be successful if you have a realistic and achievable mini-project.
For example, if I want to lose a significant amount of weight and decide to
reach my dream-body in a month’s time with working out 5 times a week and being
on a strict diet, I am very likely to give up the whole plan after two weeks
because it is simply extremely hard. Especially, if I did not exercise for
years and was eating junk food for a while, it is not possible to change my
whole lifestyle in one month.
If you want to change something, you need
to come up with a detailed plan. Either we talk about losing weight or getting a good job where you can feel useful and appreciated, it always helps if you sit down
and think about the followings:
- What do you don’t like in your life and
why?
- What do you want to change and why?
- What do you want to achieve and why?
Take a nice notebook and your favourite pen
and write down your answers to these questions. You will see, how much a little
journaling and self-analysis can help in defining your aims. Break your big
plan into small increments and list all the steps that are necessary to reach
your goal. It is much easier to focus on small and easy tasks and you are more
likely to repeat the steps every day. You are not going to give up exercising or
studying after few weeks if you aim to fulfil small and easy challenges. The
secret is to do regularly what you planned. If you repeat the steps often, they
will become automatisms very quickly and you will not have to use your
willpower for these as they are habits already. All the small steps will lead
to a huge success in the end. You will be very happy whenever you manage to do
what you planned. If you make an exercise-plan, for example, every Sunday, you
can easily prioritize and organize your other responsibilities for the whole
week. A useful hint: always start as soon as possible because early in the week
you are less tired and you are more motivated. As you start using your
willpower for duties that you have to do but do not really want to, your level
of motivation will decrease and you are more likely to feel too exhausted to exercise
or study, e.g.
So, take a moment to think about your life,
decide in what areas you want to change and make a plan. Then separate your big
goal into small and easy bits that you can repeat as often as possible. Also,
reward yourself and practice self-appreciation! You can be really proud of
yourself! You did that 15-min training, wrote the planned 10 pages or read
those 5 chapters. Be objective and do not come up whit things that you should
have done according to you. Every beginning is a new chance to succeed. It is as
good to be a beginner as nice it feels when you achieve your goal. Do not feel
ashamed of being a beginner or being fat, slow or unorganized. Guilt and other negative feelings will not help your progress. Be positive and do small
and easy tasks regularly. Soon, you will be happy, satisfied and successful.
based on Maria Brilaki’s book: Surprisingly unstuck
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