Small steps lead to big success.
Have you ever tried to reach a goal and found that you get derailed by the little things? For me, it’s never the big stuff that I struggle to overcome; it’s the everyday ‘little’ things that make it hard for me to stick with my plan.
A Common Goal Trap
All or nothing thinking is one of my biggest challenges with achieving my goals. When I want to do something important in my life, I find I get too caught up in the day to day details and let these things get in my way. I don’t have to do much to make me question my ability to finish things.
I went a little crazy and bought $100 worth of books from Chapters the other day. It’s one thing for me to say to myself: “Hey, maybe buying every book under the sun on one paycheck wasn’t the greatest idea, maybe I can cut back my spending over the next few weeks and even it out. Maybe I can also work out a plan to not do this in the future.” This kind of self-talk would be constructive and help me correct any spending faux pas in the future.
However, I’m more of the: “I spend $100 on Chapters books; clearly I’m not really dedicated to reducing my debt.” From there, it is a short couple of steps to abandoning my goals and going back to my usual way of doing business which doesn’t really get me anywhere.
This weird kind of ‘all or nothing’ thinking that comes with “If you don’t do it right the first time, you’re not going to do it right ever” is just the kind of thing that’s going to keep me stuck. It’s hard to take risks when there’s so much at stake.
Getting Back on Track with my Goal
I need to come up with a way to combat these doubts: I think this blog will help me be realistic about what I am doing right and wrong in my journey towards being debt-free. I am hoping to use the blog as a way to stay accountable, for sure, but also to help me celebrate both the little and big victories along the way.
I have started to track the different projects I have on the go to help with making and saving money which has already helped me appreciate all the things I’m doing right – instead of the one thing I do wrong once in a while. I am going to start posting these things online so they are here for whenever I need to remind myself about what I’m doing right more often. Maybe they will help other appreciate what they are doing right too.
So here’s my first crack at posting my own success:
What do you do to help you stay on track?