Break It Down-Get It Done

Well it's that time of year again, time to make those New Year's resolutions. How long will they last this time? March, February or maybe not even past January. Why do we have so much trouble keeping our resolutions? One reason is that we see only the big picture. Losing 25 pounds or getting organized or saving money. When we don't see the results soon our interest fades, we feel we are never going to accomplish our goals, its just too far away.
So what do we do? Break it down and get it done. Those resolutions have small components and we have to break it down to those components. We need to stop looking at the big picture for awhile and see a smaller one. One that is manageable in a shorter period of time. We need small victories to boost our sense of accomplishment so that we can reach the larger goal.
Alcoholics don't look at being sober for the rest of their lives. It's too large and will overwhelm them. Instead they concentrate on being sober for one day. And the next day they concentrate on being sober for one more day, but not until it arrives. And too, we must look at our goals in successful weeks, days and hours.
Stop looking at the end result, it will only lead to frustration. Break your goal down and revel in small victories. Reward your self and move on to the next. A war is never won all at once, it is a series of small battles that will lead to victory. We need to look at our lives as a series of small accomplishments that lead to the larger target.
Let's take the goal of getting organized for an example. Break it down to smaller tasks like one weekend clean out the garage. Store the items your going to use and donate the rest or have a garage or yard sale. When this is complete you could pull out all the paperwork that should be filed (or you think should be filed). You could break this down even further. First just sort what you should keep and what you should trash or shred. Once this done celebrate your accomplishment. Next week take the keep pile and sort it to files such as: Home, bills, tax info, etc...
Two things about celebrating your victories. Make the reward fit the accomplishment and don't wipe out your success with your celebration. For instance your wouldn't want to celebrate losing 2 pounds by devouring a package of chocolate chip cookies, however, a couple would be fine. You get the idea.
So as the New Year is coming and your setting your goals, go ahead and set them, make yourself stretch to reach them. But break them down to smaller tasks that you can carry out in a shorter period of time and by this time next year will be looking back on 2008 and counting your victories. Good luck and God speed.