How do you eat an elephant for lunch? One bite at a time. 

It used to be a joke, but now “one bite at a time,” is more of a mantra around my house. 

Back in 2015 I wrote the first version of this article that focused on how to feel like you are moving forward to meet your goals. Years (and a pandemic) later the key principles haven't changed, but now more than ever this has become my everyday philosophy. 

Everyone is facing things they’ve never dealt with before. And more people than ever before are consciously struggling with mental health issues. All of it together can be overwhelming on the best of days. 

So how do we tackle the overwhelming? 

Micro-goal setting. 

Think of it as one step forward. It’s a very small, “bite sized” goal you can do today that overtime, when added up, will make a difference. 

In the original article I wrote: 

I wanted to write a book, ... The thought of sitting down to write a whole book was too daunting.  

So I broke it down. Books are made of chapters, that are made of pages, that consist of paragraphs, which are made of sentences, which are made of words.  And of course words are made of letters. 

I wanted to set a daily goal that would get me closer to my ultimate goal and wouldn't overwhelm me in the midst of everything else going on… letters and words were just too small because I would spend more time figuring out what I was trying to write then actually writing.

So I committed to writing at least one sentence before going to bed each night.

Years later I’ve used this same technique to tackle every large unwieldy project. Professional and personal. Not too long ago, I suddenly found myself responsible for my elderly Uncle’s well being. All complicated by long distance and the ravages of dementia. “One bite at a time,” became our mantra as my mom and I sorted through the endless number of tasks and phone calls.  

Break the Elephant into Bites.

Identify the elephant. 

1. What is the goal that feels overwhelming?

2. What are the pieces of the goal?

3. What can you do today that would be one step closer?

Make a list for today. 

1. Keep it short. Just 3 things. (here’s another fun blog about that)

2. And if those three things have multiple parts- write those down too.

3. As you complete each thing, cross it off. Trust me- it feels good.

Celebrate what you accomplished. 

1. Congratulate yourself on what you did today and aim a little bigger tomorrow. 

2. Give yourself grace if things were harder than you thought. 

3. It’s okay to move things to tomorrow’s to do list once or twice.

Whatever it is, it does not need to be tackled all at once. No one goes from couch potato today to marathon runner tomorrow. 

And in case no one has told you yet, if you are struggling it’s okay if your micro-goals today are: get out of bed, get dressed, and wash the dishes. 

Progress, Not Perfection

2015 seems so long ago, back then I wrote: 

After you identify your long term goal, break it down into actionable items that can be accomplished daily or weekly. Know what success looks like then make a road map to get there.  

To have a goal is a start, to take action on your goal is progress.  

While that all holds true, the gift of time has taught me the value of this technique beyond career goal setting. 

If life was a dream, and it was my dream...micro-goal setting is like keeping a dream journal. The more we write about our dreams right after waking, the better we get at remembering them. With consistent practice it gets easier. 

So let’s remember our dreams. 

Celebrate what you’ve accomplished today and give yourself grace when you are doing the best you can right now.