You can't eat an elephant in one bite

Ok... Hopefully, by now you have taken the time to sit and at least ponder the idea of what it is that you'd like to achieve. You've listed your goal(s), and also made a comparable list of the things you would like to leave behind. And no, I don't mean your mother-in-law!

Even though you have conceived a goal and have realized the value it will bring, you still need to be practical about it and ask yourself a few questions:

• How long will it take me to achieve?
• Have I tried to reach this goal before?
• If you have attempted it before, did you succeed?
• If not, what stopped you?

A common reason that people do not reach their objective, is that once they get to a certain stage and have not succeeded, they think 'what's the use?' and stop trying.

This can often be due to them not having the emotional leverage as I discussed in my last post 'The mouse in the Bathtub', or it can simply be because they have overwhelmed themselves with a task that should really be broken down into smaller, more realistic goals. Today's task is a thing called 'goal mapping. 

Think of it like building a pyramid, only from the top down. Your ultimate goal will be what is at the top of that pyramid, but in order to get there, you need to build yourself a solid structure of blocks, or 'mini-goals' in order to create each 'layer' of the building.

It is a motivating thing when you have successes, no matter how small they are. This is what gains momentum. If you can break down your Ultimate goal into weekly, or even daily tasks, the self-satisfaction you gain will almost certainly keep you on track. Grab a pen and paper and follow these simple steps:

1. At the top of your piece of paper, write down your ultimate goal and draw a circle around it. Make sure it's written in big "look at me" writing. You don't want to forget what you're here for!
2. In this circle, you also need to think about a time frame that you'd like to give yourself in order to achieve your goal.
3. From here you need to ask yourself "How can I break this down into mini-goals?"
4. If you can, break it down into monthly, weekly, or even daily 'mini goals'. Even the smallest of things can help.

For example;

• If your goal was to 'get fit', set yourself some tasks you'd like to conquer by the end of each week, or even a short 5min exercise routine you'd like to squish into your day. Remember... Repetition creates habits.
• If your goal was to cut out junk food, give yourself a weekly task of only eating it on weekends. And then break that down again; Only having one small piece of chocolate per day.

Don't focus on the big picture too much right now, but always have it in the back of your mind. The metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel. What you need to focus on are the small things. These are achievable and measurable, and almost always by sticking to these, you will stay on track.