Think Small to Make BIG Things Happen

A woman with painted red nails holding three small plants

Last week, we talked about what inspirational people have in common, and how you can become a more inspirational person.

One of the things that draws us to inspirational people is that they dream BIG.  It’s their bold, courageous, visionary goals that excite us, resonate with us, and draw us in.

I know that you have bold, courageous, and visionary ideas too. Never underestimate the power of big goals.  Dreaming audacious dreams is an important part of personal and professional growth and development.

AND If you’re someone who wants to make your big dreams happen, do this: think small.

I know - it seems counterintuitive, not to mention misguided. Common wisdom tells us that we need to take big, bold steps to make big, bold things happen.

But science tells us otherwise.   Research on habit forming (and habit keeping) demonstrates that it’s micro actions, compounded over time, that lead to big results.  

(For more on this, see  _Atomic Habits_ by James Clear.)

This is great news!

Most of us jump immediately to plans that require us to make significant changes in our daily lives to see the results we're hoping for. Yet, the research tells us that it's more realistic and reasonable to commit to taking small steps every day than to jump onto new life habits that require hours of our time and loads of  mental energy that we probably don't have the margin for.

It takes effort to sit down and think about the small things we can do in our daily rhythm to lead to the changes we want to see.  Learning to think small is a skill.

Below are a few questions to help you get started.  I've included my answers to them, too, in case it's helpful to your thinking.

To make big things happen, answer the following:

What’s one of my BIG goals?  BIG = The type of goal that takes time and hard work to achieve.

-What can I do this month to help me get there?

-What can I do this week?

-What can I do on a daily basis to get to this goal over time?

Once you take the time to brainstorm your answers to these questions, you can use your responses to start scheduling your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.

For example, I have a BIG  goal for new client transformations  in 2024.  To get myself started, I’ve listed a series of marketing, networking, and training content goals for January and February.  I used those and broke them down into monthly, weekly, and daily tasks.

Every day, I have a list of small actionable steps that I will carry out in the attempt to reach that goal, whether its writing emails to my networks or current clients, clarifying our value statement, networking with other small business owners, or following up on new client leads.

On their own, none of these things would result in big outcomes. But, if done consistently, and if I’m learning along the way, these small steps will have a compounding effect over time and help me reach my goal.

Something I think that’s worth mentioning: I hate lists. I mean, truly hate them.  They are counter to the way that I think, which is more "organic."  But I've learned to use them, and to do so diligently, because they help keep me focused and productive.  And instead of thinking of them as "task" lists, I think of them as "creative" lists - a tool that helps me build (which is something I love to do!).

It's ok if you're not a natural list maker - you can use them (or another tool) in a way that works for you.

It’s your turn: what’s your BIG goal?  How will you think SMALL to get there?

Sincerely, 

Dr. Nahed A. Zehr