4 Benefits of Breaking Down Big Goals

In my new book, coming in January 2020, I talk about how one victory will lead to two, two victories will lead to three, and so on. I believe that is part of the overall goal setting process. You start by creating an action plan to attack your goals. Then you put a a step-by-step process in place that indicates how you intend to achieve your goal, taking it one step at a time.

A lot of my coaching clients come to me focused solely on the outcome of their intended goal and forget the steps they need to take to achieve that desired outcome.

The reality is that breaking your big goals down into smaller steps is one of the most effective ways to make them easier to manage and to avoid overwhelm. I truly think it’s one of the best strategies for staying on track and maintaining your motivation when striving to make changes in your life. Living your best life requires strategy and intention. Taking a ‘baby steps’ approach with consistent small actions offers a number of benefits:

It’s Easier to Get Started. Finding the motivation to make big changes is hard. Sometimes you don’t know where to start because it all seems so overwhelming. That’s when people will often decide to just throw in the towel and quit. If you come up with a plan to take small steps each day, your chances of success will increase greatly. It will seem less intimidating to begin, and you’ll soon gain momentum that keeps you forging ahead.

Start by writing down all of the individual steps necessary for achieving your goal, then go back and put them in a logical order. Then, follow these steps like a road map that you will use to execute your plan as flawlessly as possible.

Small Steps Add Up. In addition to gaining momentum and motivation with each small step, you’ll also start to see your goals come into focus. Small and consistent steps add up and lead to significant results if you just keep going. Before long, you’ll be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and can start to check off more and more milestones. Be sure to take time to celebrate each one to provide yourself with even more incentive and motivation to keep going.

Create small, consistent, flexible daily actions and tasks that will continually drive you towards your goal. But also make sure to maintain a flexible approach to unexpected circumstances or obstacles that cross your path. That is a very simple, yet effective way to beat off procrastination.

It Gets Easier. Tackling a big goal is simply easier when you break it down. That’s not just because it decreases the feeling of overwhelm. Taking small actions frees up your brain to concentrate on the bigger picture and aids in planning. It also makes the process less stressful because you’re able to focus on one thing at a time, rather than being distracted by trying to multi-task and accomplish everything.

Create Habits That Last. Taking small steps consistently helps you to overcome problems like procrastination and overwhelm. You gain confidence with each new task you accomplish. Soon, you’ll notice that adding new activities to the process becomes less difficult. That’s because you’re creating new neural pathways in your brain that make these new habits seem like second nature and will help them become long-lasting as you work toward creating your best life.

Making small adjustments to the way you start each day will totally make a difference in your energy levels, work productivity, decision making, and how you approach obstacles throughout the day. Check out my Morning Rituals E-book that examines the routines of some of the most successful people in the world, with action steps you’ll want to start implementing as early as tomorrow morning.

These are just some of the many reasons you should rely on small, consistent steps to help you reach your goals. Living your best life is possible when you have a plan that’s both manageable and realistic.

When you have a plan in place, it makes you official, and working the plan makes you successful. Devote enough time to the planning of your goal. Don’t forget to revisit the plan on a regular basis to see if it needs to be modified. It’s common for a big goal to change and morph as you go along.