Big changes come from small goals

When the goal is big and vague like for example I want to lose weight, or I
want Better Health, or I want to be successful, it can paradoxically be
discouraging and make consistent progress harder if the goal it's not made
smaller and more realistic.
There are three key reasons to transform large goals into smaller more,
realistic goals:

1. Overly General or unrealistic goals demotivate and overwhelm people

2. Small goals direct Energy to manageable actions and tasks
3. Transforming larger aspirations into a series of smaller goals provides a
clear picture or a road map for success.

Let's take them one by one

1. General or unrealistic goals demotivate and overwhelm

If you are seeking a return to Health and Fitness after many years of
ignoring it and you Let Yourself Go there may be a large difference
between your ultimate vision of fitness compared with the current situation.
This discrepancy can easily discourage anyone in the moments in which a
challenge or an obstacle appears. It's best to make the goals more realistic
by clearly defining them.
This involves imagining what life will be like if the goal was reached and if
you were living in a more fit and capable body.

In order to discover the specific vision that you have for your health goals
ask yourself the following questions:

What would be the first thing I would do in the morning if I was more fit?
What activities would I engage in?
With whom I would engage in these activities?
How would I spend my free time?

2. Smaller goals Direct Energy to actions and tasks

Vague intentions are not as useful as clearly defined goals. if the goal is
unclear, the slightest obstacle or challenge can lead to abandoning that
goal for more immediate concerns. Going back to the example of wanting
to be healthier and fit, you need to provide your own definitions in clear,
specific terms relating to the experience of living in a healthy body. This
helps making Fitness and health meaningful.

If you develop a series of smaller goals that are within immediate reach it is
easy to generate a Feeling of real possibility and Hope about achieving
your goals in general.
This positive emotional response it's essential and it has the power to
broaden your sense of your ability to achieve goals.

As a rule small goals must have two main characteristics:

1. Must be meaningful to you

2. they must be within immediate reach, in other words, they should have a
relatively short timeline such as the daily or weekly task.

For example, if you say that you want to eat healthier, it's unlikely that this
will translate into specific behaviors. Really what does eat healthier means
when you arrive home after sitting in traffic, you are already hungry and
have nothing planned for dinner?

In this case your immediate needs will outweigh any general sense of
eating healthier. When challenged or under pressure, the most familiar path
it's always the first option. And if the most familiar path is ordering pizza,
this Behavior it's exactly what will continue to happen.
Therefore, the goal to eat healthier needs to be made clear by defining
specific actions.

For example, you will have to schedule time on the weekends to write out a
plan for your dinners for every week night. You have to go shopping to buy
the necessary foods for those meals, and always carry a bottle of water
with you to sip on throughout the day. These actions should be chosen by
you knowingly because if anybody else tells you what to do it's not going to
stick with you for the long run.

The third reason to transform large goals into smaller realistic goals it's
because you can persevere further with smaller goals

successful Behavioral change is almost always the results of small

achievements accumulated over time. It is also worth pointing out that the
opposite it's true as well: The cumulative effect of repeatedly engaging in a
series of small behaviors, like for example getting a little less physical
activity, or eating fast food a few times a week, can have a big impact over
time.

People’s attitude in making physical changes goes by the principle for

Better or For Worse. A decade of small, poor choices and unhealthy
behaviors may lead someone to a decision to get back in shape.

Unfortunately, once that decision it's made anybody wants to see results
very fast and in order for that to happen people think that they need to
make big changes. In reality, you really need to make a series of small
behavioral changes in a number of areas and all these small changes
together will create the big change you desire.
If you are the typical person, your focus on big changes means you will be
very intense at the beginning and think that the necessary changes will
take a big effort and vast willpower. You will be appearing very committed
when you first set and state your goals to your friends, your family or
anybody who would listen.

However, when the daily life takes over and you are behind on your
errands, work projects, and home or family demands the continued efforts
of change will seem like too much and will be pushed aside for more
immediate concerns.