Want to Conquer a Major Goal? Think Big, Act Small
Most high-performing professionals have multiple major work and personal goals.Whether it's landing a big new client or running a marathon, setting and achieving large goals boosts our satisfaction levels and self-esteem and helps us achieve important outcomes that advance our careers and enrich our lives.
But starting anything big or new is challenging. Inertia is a powerful force to conquer.Fear of failure stops many people from tackling or even setting a big goal--but it doesn't have to. Whether it's landing that big new client or going the distance, your mountainous goals achievable with the right strategies. When you reach for the stars, or even something more modest, the key to success is to think big but act small. To put it another way, form a mental picture of your goal, and then move step by step towards it.
First, you need to imagine your goal.Annabelle Bond, the fastest woman ever to climb the highest peak on every continent, maintained a mental image of majestic Mt. Everest. That vision of the world's highest mountain dominated her thoughts every day. It is reported that people who vividly describe or picture their goals are 20% to 40% more likely to accomplish them, and Annabelle Bond proves the point.You should also anticipate the challenges you might encounter along the way and the ways to mitigate such obstacles. The more detailed your vision of the process of achieving the goal, the more prepared you will be to overcome potential obstacles.
With this process of picturing your goal and then moving towards it step by step, there are some additional tactics you can use to increase your chances of successfully realizing your aspirations,such as writing down your goals and keeping them visible，celebrating your achievements along the way, and reflecting on how you get to each milestone and what you can learn and improve from the effort.
To propel yourself toward any compelling work or personal goal, think big and act small.Form a challenging goal in your mind and take baby steps to get there. As you go from milestone to milestone,you move the goalpost forward.And with each milestone that you accomplish, your rising confidence, motivation and momentum help ensure that you get to the next milestone.Gradually, that daunting goal becomes reachable, doable and then done.
Next，move step by step towards your goal. Work backward from your end goal to determine intermediate milestones that bridge the present to your intended outcome.These milestones should be actionable，concrete and measurable steps. To lose 15 pounds,for example,may mean first targeting a five-pound goal,and then a 10-pound goal That transforms a difficult goal into more manageable pieces. Since you're always trying to reach the next step, and that next step isn't too far away, you're motivated to keep going. But only focus on the milestone in front of you, because if you fail to reach that milestone, the ultimate goal becomes irrelevant.
