The Magic of Starting Small

Written by Peter Clemens - 28 Comments
Categories: productivity tips

caterpillar

You’ve probably heard the advice “think big”. In his classic book The Magic of Thinking Big, author David Schwartz describes how thinking big can help you overcome the fear of failure, achieve your goals, and awaken the creative power within you.

The problem is that big is overwhelming and intimidating. Human beings instinctively avoid change. When we feel overwhelmed, it’s less likely we will take action. With this in mind, I want to look at an idea that in my mind holds equal power: starting small.

It is relatively easy to envision an outcome that results from thinking big. For example, if I close my eyes I can imagine standing atop the summit of Mt Everest. The difficulty comes when you think about the journey – in this case the long trek and dangerous ascent through the Death Zone. Suddenly, standing atop the summit seems a much harder.

To overcome this problem, start small. As Lao Tzu once said: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Here are 3 practical ways you can achieve big outcomes by starting small:

1. It’s About Evolution, Not Revolution

Instead of thinking “I want to lose 20 pounds” or “I want a million dollars”, try to focus on making small steps towards your goal. Small, seemingly insignificant accomplishments can snowball into something much greater. If you can lose 2 pounds, you can lose 20. If you can make one thousand dollars, you can make one million.

An area I once struggled with was confidence. When you struggle with confidence it’s extremely hard to imagine yourself becoming confident. I started to make take small steps in the direction of change: I practiced speaking up, I began to sit at the front of class, and I worked on maintaining eye contact. With these types of gradual improvements, I eventually got to the top of my own personal mountaintop and can today call myself a confident person.

2. Focus on the Next Action

Those who’ve read David Allen’s productivity bible, Getting Things Done, will be familiar with the idea of “next actions”. If you haven’t read this book, the next action is basically the next physical activity that needs to be done to move a project forward. Focusing on the next action is a simple and powerful way to overcome procrastination, gain clarity, and establish accountability. As David writes in his book, “without a next action, there remains a potentially infinite gap between current reality and what you need to do.”

3. Think Daily

What are you putting off until tomorrow/next week/next year? Perhaps it’s something tangible, like calling a friend or spending more time with your children. Or perhaps it’s something less tangible, such as happiness or love. If you’re waiting until tomorrow for “something” to happen, consider this: in so many ways, it’s your days that define your life. The way you live each day–the words you speak, the thoughts you think, and the actions you take–are what shape your life and determine what it will stand for.

Yes, it’s important to plan for tomorrow, but be sure that you’re making the most of the present. Don’t hold back living your best life till tomorrow . Start today, because what you do today that will determine tomorrow.

Peter writes about personal growth and self awareness at The Change Blog. If you enjoyed this article, you may wish to download his free e-book, A Year of Change.

  • rita

    great article! :-)

  • http://www.howtoplaza.com/2007/10/04/how-to-start-small-and-grow-big/ How To Start Small And Grow Big | The How To Do Things Blog

    [...] Big goals often seem intimidating and seem distant because as soon you start aiming for them consciously or unconsciously you know it’ll require a gargantuan effort to achieve those goals. Instead, if you fragment that big goals into smaller goals, you find them easy to achieve. Peter explains it better in The Magic of Starting Small. [...]

  • http://www.stephenmartile.com Steve

    hey Peter,

    Great points to consider. Starting small is definitely a great way to start building momentum toward any goal.

    In my own experience there have been times when I have been stuck. I was stopped and unable to take action even if the first step was only a small one.

    Inspite of this I have found ways to get mobile again and even wrote an article on the topic. The article got published in Confidence Bound Magazine and it’s called,

    ‘Just Start’

    http://www.stephenmartile.com/?p=14

    Enjoy the read,

    Stephen Martile
    Personal Development Made Simple
    http://www.stephenmartile.com

  • http://www.iwillchangeyourlife.com Peter

    Thanks for the opportunity to write a guest post John. I hope your readers enjoy it :) .

  • http://anjamerret.com Anja

    Great article and some good advice.

  • http://www.pickthebrain.com John Wesley

    Peter — The pleasure is all mine. Hopefully some people will find their way back to your site.

  • http://babblermouth.blogspot.com Aaron Simmons

    Nicely stated. There is magic in thinking big, but a lot of people die with the magic still “in them” because they never took the small steps needed.

    Here’s to millions of little thoughts that combine to form something grand!

  • http://blog.simpletruths.com/take-small-steps-to-achieve-big-goals » Take small steps to achieve big goals- Simple Truths: The Blog of Inspiration

    [...] You can head over to pickthebrain to read the original article, The Magic of Starting Small. [...]

  • http://www.wethechange.com Todd Goldfarb

    Peter and John– great article. I really like the point about thinking daily…its so easy for us to get lost in the bigger picture and bringing attention back to the daily, small tasks is a great practice for becoming more effective. nice work!

  • http://www.traderbubs.com Bubs

    Great article, I know my biggest problem when I wanted to be a full time daytrader was to hit the home run every day. I quickly realized that the best way to score runs is to hit singles on a consistent basis. The home runs will come on their own.

  • http://www.essentiallifeskills.net ZHereford

    A very practical, less daunting approach to reaching ‘big’ goals.

    Very good points, Peter!

  • http://babblermouth.blogspot.com Aaron Simmons

    Wow, Bubs, I love your analogy. The thing that is really cool is that, if you are hitting singles consistently, then those home runs will be GRAND-SLAMS! Cool!

  • http://www.myspace.com/wamylove wamylove

    This is exactly the approach I take when helping my disabled clients set vocational goals.

  • http://www.adversityuniversity.blogspot.com Stephen Hopson

    John:

    I LOVED today’s article! It’s so true – starting small eventually lead people to their desired dreams as long as they are persistent, listen to their intuition and keep moving in the direction they want to head. For instance, writing a book is a big thing right?

    But it can be broken down into chapters by writing 3X5 index cards and then putting them on the bulletin board for the writer to see every day. When the writer is inspired to write on something, he/she finds the index card pertaining to a chapter relating to the topic and writes down some ideas. Little by little! That’s how I wrote my manuscript.

    Now all I need to do is find a way to publish it easily and effortlessly!

    Thanks for a great article.

    Stephen

  • http://www.iwillchangeyourlife.com/2007/10/05/end-your-week-with-these-7-questions/ I will change your life . com » Blog Archive » End Your Week With These 7 Questions

    [...] good to feel as if you have at least made progress towards achieving your goals. Remember, small steps can lead to big outcomes in the medium to long [...]

  • http://beinspiredeveryday.com/2007/10/06/web-authors-who-inspire-me-vi-2/ Web Authors Who Inspire Me VI : Be Inspired Every Day

    [...] that summarizes a lot of the topics I have been covering in the series on motivation. His article The Magic of Starting Small talks about focusing on small tasks that can lead to large changes, and staying in the present [...]

  • http://geniustypes.com/the_genius_wire_6_october_2007/ The Genius Wire :: 6 October 2007 | Genius Types

    [...] Thinking Big Not Working Out? Try Thinking Small… -Pick the Brain [...]

  • http://cheerfulmonk.com Jean Browman–Cheerful Monk

    Well written! I believe if you don’t enjoy the process, you’re throwing away your life.

  • http://www.iwillchangeyourlife.com/2007/10/07/sunday-roundup-7-october-2007/ I will change your life . com » Blog Archive » Sunday Roundup, 7 October 2007

    [...] The Magic of Starting Small: this is a guest article I wrote for PickTheBrain. If you haven’t already come across it during your travels around the web, check it out. [...]

  • http://traderbubs.com/2007/10/07/weekend-links/   Weekend Links by TraderBubs.com

    [...] The Magic of starting small - Great article about starting small.  Very useful for traders who are trying to hit a home run on every trade. [...]

  • http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/enjoy-life-each-day/ 8 Simple Ways to Enjoy Life Every Day | PickTheBrain

    [...] The Magic of Starting Small, I made the point that it is your days that define your life. In this article, I want to challenge [...]

  • http://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2007/10/11/how-to-connect-with-nature/ How to connect with nature « Later On

    [...] for breaking down the barrier. I highly recommend the book to those who would enjoy being happy. In The Magic of Starting Small, I made the point that it is your days that define your life. In this article, I want to challenge [...]

  • http://angelived.org/2007/10/23/%e4%ba%ab%e5%8f%97%e7%94%9f%e6%b4%bb%e6%af%8f%e4%b8%80%e5%a4%a9%e7%9a%84%e5%85%ab%e4%b8%aa%e7%ae%80%e5%8d%95%e6%96%b9%e6%b3%95/ Angelived中文翻译» Blog Archive » 享受生活每一天的八个简单方法

    [...] 在“由小事做起的魔法”里，我提出了“你的生活取决于你过日子的方式”。在这篇文章里，我要挑战下只能享受休闲时光的传统观念。尤其是对于那些朝九晚五、天天盼望着周末、放弃了在日常生活中寻找欢乐的人们。 [...]

  • http://loantillpayday.forumi.bg payday loan hour till

    dollar loan payday till till faxing loan payday

  • http://www.thechangeblog.com/end-your-week-with-these-7-questions/ Review Your Week With These 7 Questions

    [...] good to feel as if you have at least made progress towards achieving your goals. Remember, small steps can lead to big outcomes in the medium to long [...]

  • http://geniustypes.com/the_genius_wire_26_october_2007/ The Genius Wire

    [...] Thinking Big Not Working Out? Try Thinking Small… [...]

  • http://topsy.com/www.pickthebrain.com/blog/the-magic-of-starting-small/?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2 Tweets that mention The Magic of Starting Small | PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement — Topsy.com

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Home Holidays Family, Tersa Crawford. Tersa Crawford said: RT @Chillami: The Magic of Starting Small http://dld.bz/jqUX #Lifehack #useful [...]

  • http://www.schefitta.co.cc/?p=4 Enjoying Beautiful World

    [...] In The Magic of Starting Small, I made the point that it is your days that define your life. In this article, I want to challenge the common perception that it is only possible to enjoy your leisure time. In particular, this article is targeted at the professional stuck in the 9 to 5 grind who longs for the weekend and, in the process, has given up on trying to find pleasure in the ordinary experiences we have every day. [...]