How to Eat an Elephant

Have you noticed that meaningful goals you set for yourself can sometimes seem as overwhelming as climbing a mountain?  The key to success is to take the giant task one step at a time. That's how mountains--and a host of other life situations--are conquered. In fact, I would hazard a guess that the majority of the most successful people in this country got where they are today by using this method.Radio talk show host Dave Ramsey often tells the story of a lunch he had with a successful billionaire. At the lunch, Dave asked the billionaire what his favorite book was. The billionaire responded that his favorite book was one that had made a huge difference in his business career and one that he read to his children and now to his grandchildren regularly—The Tortoise and the Hare.

The billionaire said the story of the tortoise and the hare and its theme of “slow and steady wins the race” rings true to what it takes to succeed in life.

Personally, I use this technique to excel at one of my hobbies, which is running marathons. When you think of the full distance, a marathon can seem like a daunting and overwhelming task. However, if you prepare by gradually building up your miles over an extended period of time, you can prepare your body to be able to handle the rigors of the race. Even with training, 26.2 miles can still seem overwhelming. The important thing is to not think of it as 26.2 miles.

Instead, like other daunting tasks in life, break it down into more doable segments.

In the case of a marathon, I take it a mile at a time, and sometimes at the end of the race, I even take it a step at a time.I’ve also seen this technique pay off in my fifteen years of coaching high school tennis. Over the years, I’ve found it helpful to tell my players to think in terms of playing one point at a time. Focusing exclusively on putting the best possible effort into getting that one point eliminates the worry, stress, and consequent underperformance that comes from thinking too much about the match and its ultimate outcome.

By eliminating the baggage of worrying about things they can’t control, the players are better able to play their best.

The important take-away lesson is that too many people don’t pursue their dreams because the task seems too difficult. Do not fall into that trap! Take it a step at a time so you won’t become overwhelmed by the enormity of the total project or endeavor. Pretty soon, you’ll look back to see that you accomplished more than you ever even hoped!

Summary:

Take life one step at a time and, over time, great things can happen!

Workshop:

• Do you think this is an important truth? Why or why not?
• Have you ever used this technique to achieve a goal? If so, how might the outcome have been different if you hadn’t taken each step one at a time? If not, how might things have changed if you had broken a goal down into individual steps?
• Is there anyone in your life or a public figure you admire who you think has used this technique to get where they are today? Do you think they would’ve been successful if they had allowed themselves to be overwhelmed with all the work ahead of them?
• Do you make a conscious effort to break the big tasks in your life into smaller, more manageable steps? Why or why not? Is what you’re doing working for you?
• How can you start doing this in your own life? What will be difficult? What steps should you take to overcome those difficulties? (List plan or steps) What might change if you do this?