Saturday, September 27, 2008

Take a (smaller) step

I recently read a book that devoted a chapter to how to move forward on a goal. We often set BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), and are so sure they are not doable that we never do anything. The key is to break it down. For instance, let say my goal is to have food in my fridge. I could say "Well, my fridge is empty. This is totally undoable." Or I could list the steps.

1. Make a grocery list.
2. Go to the Grocery store.
3. Eat dinner.

Even that seems like a lot. But, what if we broke it down even more. Let's make ever 1 step into 5.

1. Find pencil.
2. Find paper.
3. Look in fridge to find out what's missing.
4. Sit down with pencil and paper.
5. Make a grocery list.
6. Find my keys.
7. Find my wallet.
8. Walk to my car.
9. Drive to the grocery store.
10. Walk inside the grocery store.
11. Find each item on the list.
12. Walk row by row through the store, looking for items missed.
13. Check out.
14. Drive home.
15. Cook dinner.

The idea is, having dinner tonight may be overwhelming, but, if broken down to small enough sizes, steps can be taken.

What is on your list of BHAGs?

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