February 15, 2024
Many people like to start a new year by setting new goals to reach throughout the next 365 days. Goals can range from exercising more, losing weight, learning a new language to behavior changes like being more accepting or lessening time spent on social media. The list could go on and on.
It can be easy to get overwhelmed with these goals and changes, either because of the amount of energy or time it takes to make progress, or maybe there are just too many on the list. So how can the goals be made manageable and achievable? First, instead of starting with a list of goals, start with one. Once progress has been made on the first goal, others can be added.
The next important step is to break down the goal into smaller pieces. As the late South African bishop Desmond Tutu suggested, “the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.” This means that by taking small steps toward the change makes it more reachable and less mind-boggling. Other benefits of breaking an undertaking into smaller steps include:
- It’s not so overwhelming
- It doesn’t take as much thought and planning
- Achievements happen quicker
- It’s easier to measure
- It’s easier to stay focused
- It doesn’t take as long to get back on track if there are struggles
As the behavior change is being tackled, it’s important to set some timelines and measure progress. If progress isn’t where it should be by an established time, it might be beneficial to break the step down to an even smaller goal until it is achieved. Celebrating successes is a key part of the process and should be done immediately after a step is reached.
In 2020, BJ Fogg, PhD wrote a book that goes into further detail about how to change behaviors and set goals by making them “tiny.” In Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, he summarized his work with, “The essence of Tiny Habits is to take a behavior you want, make it tiny, find where it fits naturally in your life, and nurture its growth.”