Big Goals and How to Achieve Them
One of the things I have learned in the last few years that has helped to keep my mindset right is the following:
I can’t always control exactly what/when/how the final result I want is going to happen, but I can control my own actions that will contribute to that final result.
Example: I set a goal to read 100 books. I could say that by June 5th at 6 PM I would finish my 100th book, and that is a fine goal. However, life may get in the way and I cannot predict accurately such a large target so far out. What I CAN do, is focus on incremental progress toward my goal every day. I can ensure that I am listening to my audiobooks while I commute and I can put some time, energy, and intention toward my goal every single day.
Example 2: I want Henry to love reading. This is a big end goal and likely we will have to put in a number of hours of work to get to this point. He is 5 right now, and he hasn’t started on a robust reading program yet. However, what I can do is read to him often. Every single day I have the goal of reading him at least one of his books. This is an action I can do every day that contributes to my overall goal and gives a simple and actionable step I can do now. I cannot control when in the future Henry will think to himself “I love reading and I am really good at it”. But what I can do, is put my energy and intention in that direction and continue to move us in that direction, even if it is very incremental.
Example 3: I want to be fit and lean and have a body that can do whatever I need it to do because it is strong and capable. I cannot accurately predict how much work I may have to put in or how many months or years it may take for me to get to that goal. What i can do is ensure I am getting up and walking regularly. I can make sure I am eating veggies and that I lift weights a couple times a week to increase my muscle tone, metabolism, etc…
I have a number of big goals and it can be disheartening to look at those goals and see how far I have to go to get to the final result. But breaking each goal down into daily and actionable steps (habits) that can be done a little bit each day has been an absolute game changer for me and helped me make huge progress toward my goals.