THE ONE-GOAL-AT-A-TIME STRATEGY

Here is the second element of realistic thinking: If you have a set of goals, it is best to address one goal at a time rather than attempt to do them all at once. The logic here is that you will make steady and slow progress toward the completion of each and every goal, given sufficient time. The concern is that if you attempt to address all of your goals simultaneously, you will be overwhelmed by so much change and so much challenge that you will lose focus and concentration, and give up the effort entirely.

This one-goal-at-a-time process is just another variation of the one-toe-into-the-water-at-a-time method that gets you into the pool very, very gradually, rather than diving in all at once. If you take it slowly into the pool, your body will slowly adjust to the cold water rather than being hit with the shock of the cold all at once. So, which one are you—the one who takes it slowly into the pool or the one who plunges in? If you are the one who takes it an inch at a time, have you noticed that your friend who plunged in is swimming around and enjoying the pool while you are still working on getting your arms wet?

Could it be that combining goals gives you more motivation to succeed than if you take it just one step at a time? Is the sum total of progress along a number of fronts so much greater than the progress you can see on one front that you are inspired to keep going? If the question is total momentum, than you can add even more goals ...

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