This page may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure for more info.
Have you ever heard this saying?
“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
It’s kind of a weird saying honestly. Why are we eating elephants??
But it does illustrate how I achieve big goals. I break them down into small, manageable, bite sized pieces, and tackle them step by step.
This is how I got certified in cybersecurity with a very limited background in the subject.
And it’s how I more recently completed two nutrition certifications.
It’s also how I manage to eat healthy home cooked food consistently. And it’s how I teach my clients to do the same.
Here’s how it works:
My first step is to write out my final goal. Let’s take my cybersecurity certification for example – my goal was to pass the certification test.
From there, I thought about what someone who passed the test would do on a regular basis in order to achieve that result. For example, they’d read study guides and practice test questions.
But that’s still too vague. Which study guides? What would they study and how often?
After reviewing the amount of time I had to reach my goal, I settled on reading a chapter and answering the practice test questions for that chapter each day.
Finally, I had to figure out exactly how I was going to read that chapter. I decided to sit at my desk at 7 pm each day and read a chapter in the book I chose while my husband gave my daughter a bath.
That last part was super specific right? That’s intentional – being specific about exactly what action I would take each day allowed me to pass the test with flying colors.
What if I had made a plan like “read cybersecurity book by the end of the week,” like I’ve done so many times in the past?
You guessed it – I wouldn’t have gotten it done. Because I wouldn’t have considered how much of the book to read. Or set an intention for when or where I’d read it.
What I’d likely do is start strong and read three chapters the first day after my daughter’s bedtime. Then I’d get sidetracked the second day and try to cram half a chapter between parenting tasks. The third day I’d be stressed that I didn’t get enough done and stay up past midnight but not retain anything. The fourth day I’d be exhausted and read nothing…you get the idea.
And of course, this applies to your health goals too.
Taking small, consistent action toward your goals – no matter how big – is the key to finally achieving them.
What big goals are you working toward right now that you could break down into small, manageable daily actions?
For more natural health, beauty, and lifestyle inspiration, join me on Instagram and Pinterest.
