Out on a run around town, my most brilliant husband and musical partner, Rueben, had a great point: For any large goal, especially one so rare that many would call it impossible, the large goal should be preempted by much smaller goals that you can achieve this week or today.
For example, I am working on mastering 9 languages (8 plus English) simultaneously. That gets really intimidating periodically. So I preempt that goal with the goal of approximately one word a day or one hour per day just for the challenge and the brain exercise of it. It’s about keeping my mind sharp and learning about cultures worldwide. If I keep it up, I will not be abel to stop the eventual fluency.
Think about exercise. If you go into it thinking that you would like to take first place in your category at the state powerlifting meet, you will be so intimidated that you are likely to disparage yourself right out of it. But if you start by setting the goal of working out three times a week, and then another goal of beating your own records by just a bit each time, you may find yourself (like my cousin, Jan Owen, did), suddenly the top in the state in your category.
Jose’ Andres, famous chef, went to Puerto Rico after a devastating hurricane and ultimately served two million meals to those in need. How? By starting with one and letting it grow organically. When you have a child, you will (by the time you send them to college) prepare and serve and clean up nearly twenty thousand meals (do the math). If you think about that on day one, you will lose your mind. So what do you do? You start with one.
Starting with one: one word, one mile, one push up, one meal, one person… put your focus on the JOURNEY and not on the goal. It forces you to focus on the now, on today and on the ways in which this journey is evolving you. With consistent effort, the impossible goal will happen. It’s the consistent daily effort and daily appreciation of small, incremental achievement that makes it happen. Focus on the journey and the destination will come to you.
The key is simply to DO SOMETHING. START. Planning and researching and thinking and dreaming is fun and safe but it is not action. Yes, planning and research and thinking is a good and important thing, BUT it will take you nowhere if you do not ACT – today and everyday.
So start with ONE – what one shall it be?
What goal do you have? What one thing could you do today?
