2025 is knocking. Time to flip the calendar so naturally many of us feel we need to flip our mind with it. What must come with a new year must be these grand ideas of success…right?
What makes turning our calendar to a new year make us think we must produce these extravagant accomplishments? I have been guilty of it. We are taught for so long to strive for big success. I agree – let’s go BIG. But to go big, we must embrace the power of small.
If we look at our road ahead to 2025, we must believe there’s endless possibility for success. The trap though is only focusing on these grand ideas. Career goals, relationship goals, health and wellness goals – anything you’re trying to accomplish will require small steps. The challenge is whether we can embrace the power of small.
These small steps are so easily overlooked. Too many times in the past I’ve had the right vision of where I wanted to go, but suddenly, it’s the end of the year and I’m nowhere near where I wanted to be. There was a concerted effort to grow but I didn’t invest enough time in the small. Small is the details each week of what these steps needed to be. The workout game plan for the week. The networking and connections I needed for the week. The book I wanted to make progress on. The financial discipline I needed for the week.
Most of these days and weeks we will find the needle barely moves. At times it’s painfully small movement – but it’s movement forward. And when those days and weeks add up the power of small surfaces. The needle started to move a little more, and then a little more, and momentum is created. The right behaviors were being developed and each time I decided to execute a small act I knew I was creating more momentum towards my ultimate goal.
The health goals only happen with week after week of workouts and healthy food choices. A promotion at work will come from showing up each day ready to work on small progress. To improve the community we must have people buy in to hard work each day. It is the power of small that yields success.
One of the biggest deceptions when we hear about others having success is what the end result is. We see this outcome of success but don’t invest time to understand what it took to get there. Do not be fooled it’s one giant leap. This success we see only results from constantly taking advantage of small opportunities. While what shines in public is incredible, what is more incredible is all the small moments of hard work, perseverance, growth, and so much more that add up to the outcome we celebrate. Invest in the small moments and find the impact of the power of small.
Take your step: you could be someone who loves the idea of setting goals each year or you could be someone that regardless of the time of year, you know what you want to stay focused on. No matter how you approach goals, take time to reflect on how you embed the power of small into your preparation. Get detailed in your plan of attack. Make sure it’s not just the grand ideas that are documented and instead, get detailed with your approach. And anytime you get detailed, you know you will have to be fluid and be ready to adapt as time gives different circumstances. Great news is when you are faced with adversity, your attention to detail in your game plan will allow you to persevere much more effectively.