“This year, don’t worry about getting it right, just get it started. – Marie Forleo
2014 is here! Are you still excited? Some of you may be groaning right now. I’m sure you have been inundated with articles and messages about New Year’s resolutions, goal setting, and how to be your best self. Some of you may be riding the high of all that you want to accomplish while others may be losing steam already.
We are five days into the New Year. Has anything changed for you? How are you feeling about the big goals you set? I’m starting to experience some anxiety around actually accomplishing the big goals that I set for myself. It was fun setting them. Now I need to figure out how I’m going to make them happen.
My first instinct is to create a very detailed plan which typically leads to me feeling overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done. To avoid this feeling, I started breaking things down into smaller chunks. I realized that the only thing that is important is to determine my immediate next step – the simplest, most immediate action that I need to take today takes me closer to achieving my goal. Here’s an example:
Goal: I will lose 15 lbs. by June 1, 2014 by doing 30 minutes of exercise at 6:00 am three times a week and drinking one gallon of water a day.
Potential Immediate Next Step:
- A. Buy some workout clothes and a pair of exercise shoes
- B. Sign up for a gym membership
- Put on my shoes and go for a 30 minute walk right now
While each option may be important to do, C is the most immediate and adds the most value. Option C adds the most value because you will have gotten your exercise in for the day. The other two can come after that.
Next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, ask yourself what one thing do I need to do right now to move closer to my goal? Then focus on that one task.