I don’t know about you, but I find it easy to plan for a new year, primarily because the planning phase takes place in my mind. As I visualize each idea I’d like to bring to life, Super Me is running the show. She’s the creator of grand ideas. The one who knows no boundaries and has no fear.
Super Me never thinks small. Oh no. Super Me likes humongous thoughts and plans and goals—the ones that stand to alter the very course of our lives (cue Barry Manilow, singing “Looks Like We Made It”).
I bet you have a Super Me, too. That best version of you who lives in your mind and gets more work done by 8 a.m. on Monday than most people manage in a week. She shies away from nothing and no one. She confidently paves the road ahead and helps you set big goals: Write a book! Build a mailing list! Hit the NYT’s best-selling author list!
To be sure, all those ideas are great.
But in order to implement any of them, we have to start small.
That’s right, I said It. Our biggest, grandest, and best ideas require us to start small.
For that reason alone, this one little caveat can throw a wrench into the best laid plans. Not because we’re afraid of starting, but because no one—I mean no one—likes to start small.
We envision writing a novel, but we can’t bring ourselves to open a new file on the computer, much less sit down and write the words.
We dream of selling 100,000 copies of a book but never get around to building our mailing list.
We imagine what it would be like to create the career of our dreams but find it easier to maintain status quo than to build a foundation when we haven’t even broken ground.
No doubt, these realities stand in certain conflict with Super Me and all her overachieving. But Isn’t
it time the two worked together?
As you step into this new year, don’t be afraid to dream. Just remember that the surest way to reach those biggest dreams is to have the courage to start small.