6 Steps Thatll Make it Harder for You to Give Up on Your Goals

6 Steps Thatll Make it Harder for You to Give Up on Your Goals6 Steps Thatll Make it Harder for You to Give Up on Your GoalsEven though I dont really follow basketball Ive been a super fan of John Wooden for a number of years. Wooden was the legendary coach of UCLAs mens team, who led them to ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period (including a record seven in a row).A big part of Coach Woodens unparalleled success was due to his belief that success was an inevitable byproduct of doing the little things right. He didnt believe in huge action or silver bullets and instead focused on the process of becoming a better player and person.When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. Dont look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement, one day at a time, as the only way it happens. When it happens, it lasts.When I first read this quote it was like a punch in the mouth to me, because it was pretty much the exact opposite of how I had done thing s for such a long time. I was a classic couch to marathon type of person.I was that guy who didnt exercise for two years, and then Id get hit with a sudden burst of motivation and inspiration (probably from reading an article like this) and decide Im going to get in the best shape of my lifeSo Id get up off the couch and decide that Im going to groe nachfrage a marathon. And Id go out the first day and run 10 miles. And Id eat perfectly. And Id get to sleep early. And the next day Id do it again.Sounds great so far, right?But by the time the third day rolled around, Id be sore. And tired. And have other stuff to do. And Id eat poorly. So Id tell myself, This sucks. Why am I doing this? Im never going to do that again.And then Id wind up back on the couch.After years and years of trying (and pretty much always failing) with the big change approach, I finally abfluged doing the opposite- and actually succeeding Im hoping that I can save you some of this pain and show you exactly how t o build on small wins and have them turn into huge success.No matter what goal you have, what huge and amazing feat youd like to accomplish, the reality is that you can make it happen simply by taking these six steps.Its the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.John WoodenStep 1 Name Your GoalThis one is pretty easy because all you have to do is think about a big project or big idea thats looming in your mind.If youre not totally sure how to phrase it, just answer this question Whats that one thing that you really want to accomplish- yet it feels too big to tackle?Whatever immediately came to your mind when you read that question is probably what you want to focus on. So jot it down somewhere (because written goals are more effective).One other way to figure this out, is to think about that big thing that you really dont want to do, but you know you should, we all have a lot of theseThats the goal that youre going to accomplish, as long as you follow t he remaining five steps.Step 2 Set a Reasonable DeadlineI emphasize reasonable because many times, especially when were feeling really motivated and inspired (think New Years resolutions), we can be a little over zealous with our deadlines.For instance, we may look at something that we know should take about five months, yet we say, This should only take three weeks.And we start off super strong, but then we dont get anywhere close to hitting our deadline (our goal) because it was completely unrealistic.As a result, instead of building upon our success, we feel like a failure because we didnt even get close.Thats why you need to set a reasonable deadline, whatever reasonable is for the particular goal you have.Step 3 Break it Down (Work Backwards)For this step, youre going to work backward in time.Break your goal down by weeks, months, quarters, whatever timeframes are necessary based on the goal itself and the deadline youve set- from the deadline backward until today.The second ha bit in Dr. Steven Coveys* The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Powerful Lessons in Personal Change is to Begin with the end in mind.The reason this works, as Covey explains, is that its ...based on imagination- the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes.So consider your final goal and break it down into smaller goals, working backward from when you intend to achieve it, to where you are today.Step 4 Answer the When? and What?Once you have your goal broken down from the deadline to today, the next step entails deciding the when? and the what?- as Neil Fiore explains in Awaken Your Strongest Self, ...back-time from the deadline and, moving down the page, write in each week or month until you come to today. Then ask yourself, When can I start today? On what part will I start?Two simple but powerful questions- When can I start today?- On what part will I start?As Fiore explains, youre essentially creating a clear path to the goal. Youre dictati ng the exact steps necessary to make your goal a success.The purpose of this is so your mind can start working on the goal positively instead of being worried about whats happening and all of the action youre not taking.Now is when youre going to start getting specific. What exactly are you going to do in order to reach your goal?Step 5 departureThe fifth step is simply to start putting your plan (your when and what) into action.Dont worry about how efficient you are or anything like that because it doesnt matter how great (or not great) you are at whatever it is you are doing, its all about starting. In the words of author Steve Pressfield,departure before youre ready.It doesnt matter how long you work on it, just start. Take some type of action, whatever that action is.Step 6 Bring it to the PresentThe next and final thing you want to do is maintain that action, that motion, that momentum.Fiore says to simply ask yourself, When can I start again?By breaking your goal down into all of those different parts and bringing it back to today, youre moving it to the present. As Fiore explains, Youve just created a mental image of a project that spreads out into the future, like steps toward your goal, but also returns your mind to the present where your body can release its energy and start working.Then, instead of your mind wasting all of this energy thinking about what youre not doing, its able to actually focus on doing whatever it is you need to do.Just take one step. Then another. Then another.More From Inc.15 Questions You Should Ask Every Time You Start a New ProjectThe Best Way to Tackle a Massive Project Is to Start Right NowWhich to Do First Small Task or Big Project?