This post originally appeared onThe Simple Dollar.
I view that goal as incrediblyfun, even though I know its also good for my mind.
Theyre often goals that people deeplywant.
But, at the same time, people often arent in a situation where theyhaveto do it.
A fresh calendar year often feels like a fresh start.
Lets say you have a big five year goal in mind.
Whats theone thingyou can do in the next year to make it happen?
Now, youve got this big singular thing it’s possible for you to do this year.
Whats theone thingyou can do in the nextmonthto make that happen?
Now, youve got this big singular goal for this month.
Whats theone thingyou can do in the nextweekto make that happen?
Now, youve got a singular goal for this week.
Whats theone thingyou can dotodayto make that happen?
The answer to that last question is the most important one, because it focuses solely on today.
It centers you on something you’re able to manage to accomplishtoday, not some big pie-in-the-sky challenge.
For example, lets say your five year goal is to get your masters degree.
So, right there, you have something you’re free to do today to get you started.
Its something tangible it’s possible for you to dorightnow.
you’re able to find a few schools that you might want to apply to.
Lets take another onelets say its a weight loss goal.
In one year, you want to lose a significant amount of weight.
The one thing you could do this month toward losing weight is adapt yourself to a healthier diet.
This breaks the focus down totoday.
Your focus is solely on eating bettertoday, nothing else.
Lets use one more example.
Lets say your goal is to achieve debt freedom in, say, five years.
(This is effectively one thing.)
Theyre focused on losing 75 pounds above all else.
It also sets you up for failure because you often wont make nice linear progress toward your goal.
Often, the biggest gains toward a goal take place when you’ve got some great habits established.
Lets stick with our examples above, starting with the masters degree goal.
Whats the solution to this?
Each morning, I spend about ten minutes thinking about my daily goal.
For example, this session is almost always invaluable in terms of identifying temptations before they grow into mistakes.
A great example of this comes from the debt repayment goal.
Maybe you could get the book from your local library instead?
That whiteboard is blank except for a bunch of rows of Xs.
At the end of a day when I dont achieve that goal, I eraseall of the Xs.
So lets say Ive been working hard at a goal and I have a row of 15 Xs.
I just note what the goal is at the top and then follow it with rows of Xs.
Right now, I have two streaks going.
Im going to start a third streak soon for a personal goal in the coming year.
Dont Give Up Over Small Failures
It is really easy to become devastated by a small failure.
Youre trying to watch what you eat and you unthinkingly eat a fast food meal.
Youre trying to be so careful with your money and then you make a spending mistake.
A step backwards can feel incredibly painful, even if it comes after a long sequence of steps forward.
You recognize that it wasnotthe right move.
You have a negative emotional response to it.
All of those things are good things.
All of those things are indicative of positive progress.
This is a bump in the road.
This is not the end of the road.
Get yourself in the right mindset each morning, and look at your mistakes and successes each evening.
Make that your routine and youll find far more success than you ever imagined!
