I’m Not Good at Tiny Goals

But they can be a key to success.

Photo by Paul Gilmore on Unsplash

Tiny goals is one of Shaunta’s key lessons, but it’s one that’s always been difficult for me to internalize.

In writing, and in real life.

I don’t need to eat healthy today. I need to lose 350 pounds, and I need to have lost the weight 10 years ago. I don’t want to spend 10 minutes writing; I need to write 5,000 words so maybe I can finish this book, and maybe I can get an agent and maybe I can get a book deal and maybe I can see my name on a shelf in Barnes & Noble before I turn 30.

(Accepting that I am going to turn 30 without seeing my name on a bookshelf is one of the worst feelings in the world. Other people my age have careers, kids, relationships, Instagram success. I have a failed novel, super-extra-morbid obesity, and high blood pressure.)

I’m always focused on the end result. I think it’s because I expect that, at the end, once the hard work is done, things get better.

You finish the book, and you get an agent, get published, and see your name in print.

You lose the weight, you get to fit in with the rest of society, sit in chairs without worrying about breaking them, fly in an airplane without having to buy two seats or the risk of getting outright thrown off. You make more money…