"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how" -- Friedrich Nietzsche

Alive & Well Archives

June 2003

****************************************************

TODAY'S QUOTE:  "The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goals.  The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.”

                                        --Benjamin Mays

****************************************************

TODAY'S TOPIC: Chunking Down Goals

Have you set goals for yourself and your life?

I believe you must have goals in life.  Goals give you something to strive for and if they’re properly formulated, they can motivate you.  Often, however, people make goals they don’t believe they can obtain or goals that overwhelm them.  I’ve discovered that it is often easier to achieve your big goals if you have little goals along the way.  Sometimes, chunking your goals down into smaller targets is the best way to achieve them. 

Let me give you a very simple example.  Last month, I ran a 10K race (6.2 miles).  My goal was to finish the race without stopping, and I wanted to match or beat my time from last year.  I didn’t originally think this was a difficult goal.  However, as I ran, I looked up at a sign overhead that said “Two Miles.”  At that point, I thought, “Ugh.  I have four more miles to go.” 

I felt myself get a little disempowered, and my goal of 6.2 miles seemed bigger at that point.  So I decided to break the goal down into smaller, manageable pieces.  My ultimate goal was the finish line.  But I broke the goal down into one-mile increments. 

Water stations were set up at each mile mark.  When I reached the two-mile point, my goal became to reach the three-mile point and the next water station without stopping.  When I reached the three-mile mark, my goal became to reach the next water station without stopping.  The next water station was at the four-mile point.  When I reached that point, my goal became to reach the next water station at the five-mile point.  After reaching that, my goal became the finish line, which was a little over a mile away. 

I’ve run this race for the past six years.  It felt easier to me this time, because I broke it down into smaller goals.  I didn’t tell myself I couldn’t stop running before the finish line.  Instead, I focused on not stopping for each mile.  Making it one mile at a time felt much easier than telling myself I couldn’t stop until the end.  Also, I felt great about myself at each goal I reached.  It also felt more fun, because I was reaching new goals over and over rather than struggling to reach the final finish line.

This same principle of chunking down goals applies to other areas of life too.  I have a client who has a large goal to achieve by September 16.  For a while, she focused on the big goal.  But a little voice in her head kept telling her that she couldn’t reach the goal.  It was too big, and the doubt diminished her inspiration.  So she decided to chunk it down into manageable goals.  Now, she has a goal each month she feels she can achieve and that inspires her.  By reaching each of those goals, she will ultimately reach her big goal.  But in the meantime, she’ll have the opportunity to celebrate and congratulate herself after every goal she reaches.  She won’t have to wait months to celebrate just one goal.  Also, with the smaller monthly goals, that little small voice in her head isn’t telling her she can’t do it.  Instead, she feels motivated.

What about you?  What big goals have you set?  Maybe your goal is to write a book.  The ultimate goal is the published book, but the smaller goals can be to write one chapter at a time.  Maybe you want to lose weight and start exercising.  Focus on going to the gym one day at a time.  Maybe you want a new relationship.  Rather than worrying about finding your soul mate right away, make your goal to go on a date. 

So how about it?  What big goals have you set?  How can you chunk them down so they feel more manageable and more fun?  How can you give yourself the opportunity to celebrate small goals along the way?

*****************************************************

Coaching Challenge

*****************************************************

If you haven’t already set goals, set them now.  Then, look at how you can chunk them down into more manageable pieces