I think we’ve all done it. We’ve set a goal for ourselves or we have a big project that we want to accomplish and then, within a few weeks or months we feel overwhelmed with the whole thing and want to give up. So, we set that goal again later that year because we’d really like to accomplish that thing we wanted to do. But nothing changes.

It’s because we are not doing this goal thing correctly. Most goals tend to be awfully vague.

  • Write a book.

  • Lose weight and get healthy.

  • Travel.

  • Be a better submissive.

We’re inspired to accomplish something, but before we can do the work, we need to break it down into smaller actionable steps. Tiny pieces of steps that we can easily understand and accomplish. It’s far easier to manage a bigger goal when it’s broken down into manageable bite-sized pieces than one that isn’t.

If you have a tendency to procrastinate, feel stressed or overwhelmed (I know I do!), you’re a perfectionist or you’re afraid of failure you’ll be happy to know that breaking your work into small steps really works. If you feel yourself resisting with the tasks you’ve set, break them down further. Remember, you want the tasks to feel easy to accomplish so that it helps move the project or goal along.

I have applied this technique just recently when KnyghtMare told me that he wanted our usual face shaving routine to feel more like a pampering session. It felt like a huge task since I’ve never given a fancy shave and from his request, it sounded like he wanted me to eventually go all out. First, I researched on shaving forums what supplies people used for a home shave and wrote down everything that I thought would need to be purchased. Then using websites for men and shaving, I made a list of the steps to getting a pampered shave. Lastly, I went to YouTube and looked up “how to give a hot towel shave” and watched people so I could learn tips and tricks. I wrote down all the tips I thought would make the experience enjoyable to him and easy for me to perform. It all began with breaking it into small steps to develop a full-fledged plan.

Of course, the final step is to actually practice until perfect!

Did you know that taking this approach will give you time in your schedule to be inspired? It’s that inspiration that will generate ideas and guide you towards more creative research, better observation skills and point you in the direction for correct information.

It’s something that is often suggested of people who have a lot of goals to meet. Say, you make a bucket list. A bucket list is a list of things great and small that you want to accomplish before you “kick the bucket.” The next step is always to put it aside. Your brain will work on those goals without your direct interaction and what you want will come to you through ideas, inspiration and being able to see openings in your life. It’s the best kind of magic.

It’s no wonder though, with so much focus on results and performance these days, that we push ourselves to work harder and harder to value the big stuff. Sometimes tackling big chunks of a project makes sense. One of the things you’ll learn with practice is which approach will be the most effective in getting the job done and reaching your goals.

Let’s Do It

Pick one of your goals that you’ve been meaning to get to, or that feels like it’s too big to get started. We’re going to break it down into steps that feel like something we can do with little effort!

  • Write your goal in the middle of a sheet of paper.

  • Figure out at least 2 milestones to celebrate as you work toward your goal. This can be something like finishing one chapter of your book to drinking 8 cups of water a day for a whole month. Write those down in the cardinal directions around the goal.

  • Write down the tasks to get to your milestones.

  • If a task still seems a bit too big, you can break them down smaller.

  • Finally, think of two micro steps to get you to jump-start into your goal. A micro step is something you can accomplish within 5 minutes. It will boost your confidence and

Hopefully, you are spurred on by the goal setting process and you’re inspired to get going! Remember to take those unsurmountable goals, break them into bite-size steps and then take action! Next month we’ll talk about how to prioritize your tasks and goals so that you can stay on track. I hope you make some progress on your own goals