What problems do you have right now that you don’t want next year? Brainstorm some reasons why the problem exists, and how to take action. Be as imaginative as you can with possible solutions, allowing even the most far-fetched possibilities to be added to your list. Next, pick the solution apart. Create a list of at least 20 small steps you can take to gradually implement the solution and move forward toward what you really want. Finally, pick a day on the calendar as the start date for each step.

The smaller you can break down the action steps, not only will moving forward feel less overwhelming, but you will be more likely to experience success. Each success invigorates us and leads to further success.

Sometimes our problems seem too big to conquer. My violin teacher has a wonderful strategy for helping students struggling with a piece of music that serves as a smart analogy for approaching other issues in our lives. She cuts a hole in a piece of paper the size of one measure. Then she places the paper over the sheet of music and asks her student, “Can you play those four notes?” The student nods, “Oh yes, of course, I can play those four notes” and proceeds to play the only four notes visible on the page of music. Then my teacher moves the piece of paper to expose four different notes, continuing with the exercise until the student has internalized the strategy.

If we take on the whole project at once, focusing on the end result, we can obsess about the many interim steps we have to take in between. Instead, we must understand that everything is easier if we can break it down into smaller parts. We begin with the end in mind, but make a map, and focus only on the immediate tasks to get us there.

A piece of music is a series of four notes played together. Similarly, our lives are just a series of steps we take every day. Sometimes we can only take a couple of steps at a time until we have mastered them. Sometimes a couple of steps are the only thing we have the time or emotional energy for. The smaller the steps, the less difficult it is to start each one. Eventually, we add another step, and then another until we reach our goal.

As toddlers we learned to run by first learning to walk. We learned to walk by taking tiny shaky steps a little at a time. Everything we’ve learned to do, everything we practice became a habit through repetition.

Change your habits. Live deliberately. Create the life you want tomorrow through simple planning and action today.

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