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JacobMiller | August 29, 2013 | 26 Comments

Stay on track. It keeps you there.

 

Photo Credit:  Krystian Olszanski

Photo Credit: Krystian Olszanski

When you want to get big projects done, it is important to be consistent and stay on track.  It can be easy to derail or give up, but there are ways to prevent that from happening.  We have to learn to build up great habits to do great things.

So how can we stay on track and achieve greatness?

One habit I suggest doing is giving yourself short term goals rather than only long term goals.  Smaller and easier goals do a lot for us; more than you may think.  Here is what they do.

  1. Short term goals allow us to win a lot more. Doesn’t that sound awesome!?
  2. When we win more, we feel better about ourselves more.  The more content we are with ourselves, the more likely we are to succeed.
  3. Smaller goals combined create larger goals.  It’s nice to think about the forest we are growing, but we cannot forget about every tree that we plant along the way.
  4. It’s good to see progress.  If we only mark down the big goals we have reached, we can feel down and out.  We need to celebrate each step and little progress is still progress!

So take some time and think about how your long term goals can be broken down a bit. Maybe there are parts that you didn’t really take to heart.  Sometimes the smallest goals create the most progress for us and that is something to be excited about.

What are things that you do to stay on track? You can leave your comment below.

Filed Under: Creativity, Focus

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Diego says

    August 29, 2013 at 6:34 am

    Jacob, nice one!
    I thought 2 things while reading it:

    1) Baby steps. As you said the feeling of moving and accomplish small things motivates us; it’s an awesome “auto positive feedback”.
    2) Debriefing: We tend to write this big, huge goals where we never know where to start. So it’s good to write and have those goals, but after you thought about them, break it into much smaller ones so you can have a clear path for your baby steps.

    It’s the whole concept behind Dave Ramsey debt free-wealth built program: 7 baby steps. And baby step 2 is the debt snowball, where you break down your debt from the smaller to the larger and start knocking the down. The sense of accomplishment visualized but the snowball going faster and faster is pretty graphical:)

    Thanks. Like it a lot.

    Diego.

    Reply
    • asmithblog says

      August 29, 2013 at 6:47 am

      So true Diego.

      Reply
    • Jacob Miller says

      August 29, 2013 at 7:43 am

      Great points Diego! Thanks for the example from Ramsey too!

      As far as debriefing goes, take it a step further when you break it down. Why are these baby steps such a big deal? Treat them as you would a large goal because they have just as much value. They are the cells to the organism you are creating. If you can put your heart into each baby step, you will grow it into something spectacular.

      Reply
      • Diego says

        August 29, 2013 at 8:40 am

        Right, agree. I guess it’s a matter of action!!

        Thanks.

        Reply
  2. Diego says

    August 29, 2013 at 6:34 am

    Jacob, nice one!
    I thought 2 things while reading it:

    1) Baby steps. As you said the feeling of moving and accomplish small things motivates us; it’s an awesome “auto positive feedback”.
    2) Debriefing: We tend to write this big, huge goals where we never know where to start. So it’s good to write and have those goals, but after you thought about them, break it into much smaller ones so you can have a clear path for your baby steps.

    It’s the whole concept behind Dave Ramsey debt free-wealth built program: 7 baby steps. And baby step 2 is the debt snowball, where you break down your debt from the smaller to the larger and start knocking the down. The sense of accomplishment visualized but the snowball going faster and faster is pretty graphical:)

    Thanks. Like it a lot.

    Diego.

    Reply
    • asmithblog says

      August 29, 2013 at 6:47 am

      So true Diego.

      Reply
    • Jacob Miller says

      August 29, 2013 at 7:43 am

      Great points Diego! Thanks for the example from Ramsey too!

      As far as debriefing goes, take it a step further when you break it down. Why are these baby steps such a big deal? Treat them as you would a large goal because they have just as much value. They are the cells to the organism you are creating. If you can put your heart into each baby step, you will grow it into something spectacular.

      Reply
      • Diego says

        August 29, 2013 at 8:40 am

        Right, agree. I guess it’s a matter of action!!

        Thanks.

        Reply
  3. asmithblog says

    August 29, 2013 at 6:49 am

    One thing that I do to stay on track is to write lists. I have to write everything down or I wander off course pretty easily. Great post, Jacob.

    Reply
    • Jacob Miller says

      August 29, 2013 at 7:40 am

      Thanks Adam. Lists help a ton, but I think the big thing is remembering the value that each thing on the list has. Sometimes we don’t realize it until much later.

      If we can learn to invest in the little things more we can make the great things greater.

      Reply
      • asmithblog says

        August 29, 2013 at 7:45 am

        great points Jacob

        Reply
  4. asmithblog says

    August 29, 2013 at 6:49 am

    One thing that I do to stay on track is to write lists. I have to write everything down or I wander off course pretty easily. Great post, Jacob.

    Reply
    • Jacob Miller says

      August 29, 2013 at 7:40 am

      Thanks Adam. Lists help a ton, but I think the big thing is remembering the value that each thing on the list has. Sometimes we don’t realize it until much later.

      If we can learn to invest in the little things more we can make the great things greater.

      Reply
      • asmithblog says

        August 29, 2013 at 7:45 am

        great points Jacob

        Reply
  5. NoMoreHamsterWheel says

    August 29, 2013 at 10:40 am

    Great post! I shared it on my FB page. Keep these coming! We can never, ever get enough tips, inspiration, ideas to grow as individuals, reach our goals, get to our dreams. In regards to the topic at hand, it just works when you break goals into smaller pieces. I started breaking down my goals into smaller pieces a while back and now I’m much more successful. It doesn’t feel so overwhelming and I feel a sense of accomplishment.

    Reply
    • Jacob Miller says

      August 29, 2013 at 1:16 pm

      Thanks for reading and sharing! Remember to put just as much effort into these small goals because they hold great value and change your overall end result.

      Creating a habit of awareness of the value of each thing we do allows us to appreciate those big successes so much more!

      Reply
  6. Camilla says

    August 29, 2013 at 10:40 am

    Great post! I shared it on my FB page. Keep these coming! We can never, ever get enough tips, inspiration, ideas to grow as individuals, reach our goals, get to our dreams. In regards to the topic at hand, it just works when you break goals into smaller pieces. I started breaking down my goals into smaller pieces a while back and now I’m much more successful. It doesn’t feel so overwhelming and I feel a sense of accomplishment.

    Reply
    • Jacob Miller says

      August 29, 2013 at 1:16 pm

      Thanks for reading and sharing! Remember to put just as much effort into these small goals because they hold great value and change your overall end result.

      Creating a habit of awareness of the value of each thing we do allows us to appreciate those big successes so much more!

      Reply
  7. Leo J. Lampinen says

    August 29, 2013 at 12:20 pm

    I see what you did there. Great post Jacob!

    Reply
    • Jacob Miller says

      August 29, 2013 at 1:16 pm

      ha. Thanks Leo! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Leo J. Lampinen says

    August 29, 2013 at 12:20 pm

    I see what you did there. Great post Jacob!

    Reply
    • Jacob Miller says

      August 29, 2013 at 1:16 pm

      ha. Thanks Leo! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Dave Arnold says

    August 29, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    Nicely said, Jacob. I found when I simplified my goals, I got them done and saw results. Thanks for this!

    Reply
    • Jacob Miller says

      August 29, 2013 at 1:17 pm

      Thanks for reading Dave!

      Simple is true, but putting greater efforts into the little things helps the overall picture. Put quality time into the small things and we will get fantastic results!

      Reply
  10. Dave Arnold says

    August 29, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    Nicely said, Jacob. I found when I simplified my goals, I got them done and saw results. Thanks for this!

    Reply
    • Jacob Miller says

      August 29, 2013 at 1:17 pm

      Thanks for reading Dave!

      Simple is true, but putting greater efforts into the little things helps the overall picture. Put quality time into the small things and we will get fantastic results!

      Reply

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Hi, my name is Adam Smith and welcome to asmithblog.com. I am the author of the book, The Bravest You. Because of my work as an entrepreneur, consultant, writer, and speaker, I have been named a top industry influencer by American Genius. I live with my wife, Jasmine, and three children in Shenandoah, IA.

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