Small Steps Toward Big Goals
We have this tendency to expect ourselves to achieve our goals promptly though we tend to overlook the smaller steps involved in reaching the bigger goal. Many of us have become so accustomed to receiving what we want almost immediately. I often find myself having the same conversation with people, we’re disappointed with ourselves, we're setting unrealistic expectations for ourselves. When people are working towards their goals they don’t often share the process. When we see people who have built a business or gotten the position they want, we don’t see what they did to get there and we often don’t ask. I see the impact this is having on our expectations of ourselves. We set goals and expectations for ourselves while overlooking the small steps that it will take to get there.
The same thing is happening with our mental health related goals. We want better relationships, we want to better manage our symptoms of anxiety or depression, we want to better understand our emotional experience. We want to reach these goals but we aren’t considering the changes we will need to make or the different phases of ourselves that we will experience along the way. More importantly, we aren’t satisfied with ourselves when we take those smaller steps.
In my work I often find myself encouraging others to break their goals down into smaller steps that allow them to celebrate the steps towards their goal. When the goals are big with no small steps in between we can run low on momentum and start to feel like we aren’t making progress. When we set small goals along the way for ourselves it allows us to feel good about the process and assists in maintaining momentum towards our goals.
So where do we start?
Identify the goals you want to work towards
Find the small steps that signal a new phase towards your goal
Celebrate the small steps along the way
If you’re having a hard time, reach out for support. Youre friends and family are great people to help identify your small steps.
If you want some additional support, reach out to a therapist who can walk with you through your phases.
Take small steps each day towards your big goals!
