We’re often told to set “big, audacious, and scary” goals. 

There’s nothing wrong with setting big goals – to get a job in publishing, to lose 20 pounds, or to get an MBA -- except goals like that can be so overwhelming that we stop pursuing them. Often, we can’t even figure out where to begin.

That’s why so many of my guests on the Advice to My Younger Me podcast instead urge taking “baby steps” toward your goal.  Carolyn Webb, the author of How to Have A Good Day, said in Episode 105, I think that we often bite off too much when we are trying to think about personal change. We set ourselves big goals and lots of them and then we feel disappointed in ourselves when we don’t achieve all of them.
 
For example, rather than setting the goal of getting a job in publishing, you could set as your goal doing informational interviews with three people who work in publishing. Or rather than setting a goal of getting an MBA, you could set the goal of researching online MBA programs.

Tiny steps lead to bigger steps, and that's what gets you where you want to go. Doing something each day that moves you forward a little bit can build the momentum you need to propel you forward.

Here’s my suggestion for making progress on something you’ve been thinking about doing for a long time, without much progress:  Pick just one goal that is really important to you. Focus only on that goal for now.  Pick the smallest possible action you could take related to achieving that goal. Do that thing today. Feel awesome. Repeat.

Big goals are great.  But don’t let their size paralyze you.  Better to take “baby steps” towards what you want to achieve, than to set big, audacious goals which leave you feeling discouraged.