by Dale Stuemke
http://www.launchyourgoals.com/change/register.htm
©
2008
How do you eat an elephant? And, you're asking me
"Why would I want to eat an elephant?" Maybe if I ask it another way:
How do you eat a 1,000 pound marshmallow? Is that a little more palatable? Either
way, the answer is the same: One bite at a time!
Now, I
doubt that you want to eat either an elephant or a 1,000 pound marshmallow. But,
do you have a big goal? Does it seem overwhelming but yet something you really
want to accomplish? Is the goal so big that you just can't figure out how to "just
do it"?
This is more normal than abnormal. Most of
us have some big goals, things we want to accomplish that will take concentrated
effort over a long period of time. We each have our own version of the 1,000 pound
marshmallow and we'll each have to figure out how to eat it one bite at a time!
How can we do that?
Step 1: Analyze
The
first step is to examine your goal and determine what smaller, more managable
goals will lead to the accomplishment of the large goal. Years ago I was working
for a computer company that had its own huge goal. (In fact, that's the first
time I had heard the question "How do you eat a 1000 pound marshmallow"!)
We were going to develop a brand new computer with all new hardware, all new software,
all new everything!
Step 1 was very important because we
had to know what all the pieces would be before we could plan how to put them
together. Your big goal is like that too. What are all the "pieces"
that you'll need to accomplish in and of themselves before you can bring everything
together to achieve your goal? This is an important part of the process, so do
the analysis carefully and get help if you can't answer all the questions yourself.
So,
in Step 1 you need to analyze where you are right now You really need to understand
how big the project is going to be before you can start working toward it. What,
exactly, is the goal you want to achieve? Do you need additional skills or education?
How much time and effort will you be able to apply on a regular basis? Are you
going to need someone guiding you along the way, or can you create your plan on
your own? If you have a big goal, you need to do a thorough analysis of what needs
to be done before you start.
Here's a tip. Do this step
carefully and thoroughly and you will save yourself a lot time as you get further
down the road. The time you spend analyzing and planning the achievement of your
goal is not time spent, it's time invested and it will pay great dividends as
time passes!
So, step 1 is where you really examine the
marshmallow and figure out how you will divide it into bite-sized pieces so you
can eat the whole thing!
Step 2: Plan Your Work
Now
that you've analyzed your goal and how you can achieve it you can begin planning
how and when you're going to accomplish each bite-sized piece. From your analysis,
you know what the pieces are and whether there's a particular order in which they
should be accomplished.
You need to create a plan that's
broken down into those "bite-sized" pieces. By doing this, you will
be identifying the incremental steps you will be achieving on your path to the
goal. Be sure that each step provides meaningful progress toward your goal, but
don't make them so large that they seem insurmountable. If you do this right,
you will move from one step to the next with a good attitude because you have
accomplished something significant (in the step you just completed); and you will
have no problem believing that you can accomplish the next one as well.
As
you develop your plan, you'll find Some things will have to be done in a chronological
order while others can be done in parallel. When you can work items in parallel,
you reduce the total time it will take to reach your goal.
Remember
that computer project I told you about? We didn't need to wait for the processor
to be completely built and running before we started developing the software.
These things could be done at the same time. But, they both had to be done before
we could do any testing of the complete product. That step had to wait for the
right time in the project before it could be attempted.
How
does this apply to your goals? Perhaps you have a career goal that will require
additional education but also require that you to obtain specific job experience.
It's very likely that you could be gaining the job experience during the day at
your job while you attend college classes at night. You can work on these steps
concurrently. By doing so, your job experience and your education will both be
recent and relavent when you are ready for the next step.
Step
2 is another high-return investment that you are making in your goal achievement.
Be sure to give it the time and concentration it deserves.
Step
3: Work Your Plan
Now it's time to start eating that marshmallow!
You are now ready to work your plan. You know you have a good plan and that it
will take you to your goal. If you've done your plan carefully you will have milestones
(or checkpoints) built in that will demonstrate your progress and give you the
positive feedback you'll need to keep going.
Remember that
marshmallow? Basically, you've marked it up so you'll know how big the pieces
need to be as you cut them. If you cut them too large, they'll be too hard to
chew. (Can you imagine putting too much marshmallow in your mouth and having to
deal with it?) But, if you cut the pieces too small, you'll munch away and never
seem to be making any progress.
As you progress according
to your plan, you will probably find yourself more motivated at each step. Why?
Because you are experiencing the good feelings of accomplishment, and you are
showing yourself more and more that you really can achieve your goal. As you do
this, you are actually increasing your motivation AND your momentum!
So,
work your plan, track your progress, and reward yourself as you accomplish significant
pieces of your plan.
Go ahead, eat that marshmallow! Just
remember what your mother taught you about not putting too much food in your mouth
at once and to chew each bite thoroughly before swallowing. Next thing you know,
your "meal" will be finished, and you'll be looking for the next one.
(whatever happened to that elephant...maybe you're ready for it next!)
