January has flown by in a blur. Just yesterday it seems we were wrapping presents, enjoying the holidays, and anticipating a fresh start with the new year.
How about those fresh start new years resolutions? Have they survived the month? If you are like me a few are moving forward, some have fallen off track, and others are still sitting in the starting gate.
Why do we often struggle accomplishing our goals and resolutions? One reason is because the goals we set are too big, or at least they feel that way. We take Jim Collins' advice to create Big Harry Audacious Goals (BHAGs) but then don't know how to achieve them. Whether it be a goal to lose weight, open a business, or complete a Toastmasters manual, the amount of work involved can feel overwhelming and ultimately become a demotivator.
Recently I had a conversation with someone who was almost paralyzed by the goal she set for herself. As we talked I began to realize she was trying to tackle the entire goal at once, focused on the end result instead of the steps it would take to achieve success. In other words she hadn't full deconstructed the goal to the monthly, weekly, and daily activities required. We worked through this together and now, while still at times overwhelmed, she is back on track with a set of daily goals and activities that build toward accomplishing the larger goal.
How about your Toastmasters goals? Does completing your CC manual feel overwhelming? How about getting to DTM - does that feel completely out of reach?
The same principal of deconstruction can work for you. Break your speech projects down into small manageable steps. For instance you could plan to do research one week, followed by collecting examples the next week, followed by writing a rough draft on the the third. Each of those weeks can be further broken down into actions which can be checked off your list each day.
Don't allow the size of your goals to become discouraging. If you need help deconstructing Toastmaster goals, any of our experienced Top of Texas members would be glad to help. Create New Day Resolutions and take small daily steps toward achieving your goals.
Jeff Wright, CC
That's what I had to do with my goal of achieving DTM. I set a time to finish it and then broke it down into small bits and wrote a timeline. I had never thought I would be able to achieve my DTM but with one step at a time, I did it!
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