How to achieve anything by thinking small
There is a sense of building despair that comes with repeated failures.
We feel our spirit drain with every project dropped for a new one; with every ‘mistake’; with every rejection.
Failure is good if we view it for the value it holds, yes.
But at some point, we need to see some success — any success — for our own sanity if anything.
Wins feel good. Feeling good drives us forward, saturating our souls with creative power.
Knowing that we can achieve is life-giving.
Believing in ourselves and having the faith that we can achieve even the smallest success is vital.
I know what it’s like to buckle under the weight of failure. It sucks the force out of me. It robs me of sleep. It pulls the stuffing from my chest.
These things can be reversed with a new vision of what we are capable of.
We need to make our goals surmountable. We need to see this in our mind’s eye.
We need to know that we can do things that contribute directly to our self-growth every day.
It’s easier than it sounds.
This requires a simple re-alignment for most of us because most of us have forgotten what works.
Anything is possible, with these two ingredients:
The steps that comprise what you want are do-able in one go. They are ‘small.’
You have a philosophy that makes the neglect of these small steps non-negotiable.
Most of us ignore both.
We don’t have goals in the first place, especially exciting ones that keep us interested.
We don’t see the value in repeated actions, even if those actions are super-simple.
This was the mistake I made recently when I went home to visit family. I took that as an excuse to stop my small daily writing habit.
Rather than outright stopping, I could have made the steps smaller.
I could have written a few lines.
Consistency is massively more important than the standard of any one step.
We don’t GET the idea that we don’t need to be ‘geniuses’ to be successful — in any area.
This is the biggest misconception that anchors us down.
We do not need to be talented to achieve amazing results.
All we need are for the steps to be small enough so that we can complete the task daily — in spite of our other commitments, and that we don’t stop doing them.
We need to have a burning level of faith in the strategy that if we keep doing something with persistence, we can have whatever we want.
Like with so many things in life, simplicity prevails.
Break down what it is you need to do into the smallest piece.
Make not doing that thing difficult.
Very difficult.
Get obsessed with your small tasks.
Become a freak at repetition.
Call yourself: ‘MR REPEAT.’
String those wins together, and you are a changed person.
Want to write a novel?
Write 500 words; 300; 150; hey, 50 words.
Do that every day, no matter what.
Write 500, and if you go on holiday, downgrade that temporarily to 50 words, but: Do. Not. Stop.
I know. It’s hard because it’s so easy not to do the thing, but we must.
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Sit down to write at the same time; the same place.
Have someone remind you to do it with consequences if you don’t.
Write even if you have a cold, or you’re travelling, or your favourite show is on.
Combine these completed steps with daily, relentless accumulation, and you have a book.
You have a sentence.
You have a paragraph.
You have a chapter.
You have a book.
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What about this makes sense to you? Or doesn’t it? Do write a short comment below. I read them all.
Alex
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If you have 10.3 seconds, I’d love to hear what you think, in the comments below.
What makes you come alive?