How to make a big goal manageable with tiny steps
A couple of months ago I resolved to create something every day and post it here. I have been pretty good at keeping this up but last week I seemed to be wavering.
I have also been doing the 100 day project with Elle Luna at The Great Discontent. I took up the additional challenge to post a daily 10 minute journal every single day for 100 days. Last week I completed that 100 days. Yay! (You can check it out on Instagram by the way).
Completing a challenge like this is rather motivating. It helped me remember how important it is to take tiny steps towards your goal. As the Chinese proverb says,
"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."
This is really the only way to take a great big goal, and turn it into something manageable. Never underestimate the cumulative power of small repeated actions. The big picture goal can be overwhelming. Choices too, can be overwhelming. So devising a plan of tiny steps is a way of taking a large abstract goal or objective and making it into a series of executable actions without the distraction of having to decide what to do next. For me, the overarching objective of learning to draw and paint better is now simply a question of turning up every day and making a painting of a predetermined subject. Much more achievable.
My main objective is to be creative every day, and to learn to draw and paint. Sometimes the writing part of my posts is a bit of a distraction. The main purpose is to keep drawing. And I am rather pleased with my subject choice for this month. It turns out that drawing curvy exotic teapots and then decorating them is a surprisingly relaxing pastime... who knew!
"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." - Robert Collier
Explore more of the Tea Time series posts here
