You Can Accomplish Big Goals Without Getting Overwhelmed
In an ideal world, we can all set big goals and achieve them with ease. It's just dreaming, and then bam, we achieve them. We can have everything we ever want, and we never ever feel like we will fail.
Sounds amazing, right?
Every Sunday I sit down and write down all the things I need to achieve this week. I'm feeling motivated and excited.
By Thursday I feel exhausted and frustrated.
Related: What is Scarcity Mindset, and How Do I Stop It?
I spent so much time working on those goals, and I didn't get them done.
My patience is quickly spent when I feel like I can't keep up –or catch up. My family suffers, my mental health suffers, and my motivation tanks.
The weight of my anger and guilt is crushing.
Why can't I just be successful?
Sound familiar?
Maybe you know exactly what I'm talking about, and if you do, this is the post for you.
Now that we know the problem (getting overwhelmed) let's carve out a solution.
How Do You Accomplish A Big Goal?
It's our nature to dream big, but what about when those dreams aren't fulfilled? When you fail to meet a goal you set?
Take a step back and look at the big picture with me.
You want to achieve big goals, which is why you keep setting them. But failing hurts your self-esteem and makes you feel like you can't do it.
How can we fix this?
Set Smaller Goals.
Let's call them baby goals.
Baby goals are much easier to nurture and fulfill than big huge goals.
If your goal is to lose ten pounds, start by going for a walk after dinner tonight. Too much? Start by putting on your shoes. If that's too much, go take your shoes right now and put them by the door.
Work through all of the obstacles before go time.
Put out your outfit beforehand so you can find a pair of socks, untie your shoes and put them by the door and go buy a sports bra, since you have NO IDEA where yours went.
Any of those obstacles could derail you from succeeding.
Remove barriers
Achieve success
Plan to put yourself as close to achieving the goal as you are comfortable with beforehand, and then you're bound for success. Setting up for success may even drive you to take that final step and go for a walk right now.
Set Important Goals
In order to find mega success, you have to set goals that mean something to you.
If you don't care about the goal you're setting for yourself, you aren't going to prioritize it, and you won't be successful.
Pick One Thing to Focus on
It's so easy to go overboard when setting goals.
You want to be healthier, meaning you have to drink more water, eat paleo starting RIGHT NOW, and start running.
But then when it's go time, you're stressed to the max, thinking about how you have to accomplish ALL of it of you're a failure.
Well, I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be that way.
Instead of trying to change everything in your life, pick one thing and put everything you have into it.
If you want to start drinking more water, I have great tips for you here.
Time Yourself
I can't be the only one, right?
Everything takes a million hours to do, and I don't have time for all of it.
Ya know what, I think I'll just wait to do it later. I can't find the time for it right now.
Later never comes though, does it?
You end up dreading the time you'll lose (and don't have!) completing this task and put it off indefinitely.
Timing yourself takes away the guesswork, which is necessary.
It turns out we ALWAYS overestimate how long something will take, and assume we don't have time for it.
This trick has helped me in every aspect of my life.
Knowing exactly how much time it takes to do dishes means you don't worry about being up too late because of chores or worrying you won't have time before children wake up in the morning.
Related: Find More Time in Your Mornings.
You can take your time back.
Take Some Advice From Anna
When you're overwhelmed, it's best to just simplify everything.
If you've never seen Frozen 2, this might not mean much to you, it's just a song.
But the main reason I'm adding it is because of the line:
Just Do The Next Right Thing
Also, if you have not gone to see Frozen 2, just go do it. It's the perfect movie to learn how to deal with grief. I wish I had watched it when I lost my friend many years ago.
What are your goals for this season in your life?
Pick up your morning routine planner, and then let's chat about your goals, and how we can help you achieve them.
I love this post. Super helpful. All of your posts always have so much info!
Love this! Overwhelm is a very real thing that many peoole deal with. It does stand in the way of accomplishing big goals, and even small ones sometimes. You are right to try to simplify and just focus on one thing at a time. Additionally, you can reward yourself for accomplishing each little mini-goal. That can be just the push you need to get out and go for that walk when you promise yourself time to read the next chapter of your book as a reward when you get back, or something else that appeals to you. Accomplishing small goals also lends momentum. Changes to our lives do not have to be drastic to have a big impact. Small changes done consistently are the key to accomplishing big goals.