Eye On the Prize: Micro Goals Lead To Macro Accomplishments

Goals are an integral part of achieving results. When we try and wing it and hope for the best without a system we often fall short of the objective, get frustrated and ultimately not achieve the conclusion we were hoping for. By intentionally focusing on the process and following simple steps along the way in micro-chunks we can achieve massive results in the end.

One thing that most of us in emergency services are not very good at celebrating wins along the way. Instead we focus on the next problem to fix and don’t take time to toot our own horns (toot, toot!) when we accomplish even a small win. Had a solid training with your crew? Awesome! Worked out 4-5 days this week like you said you would? Fantastic! Got a proposal accepted that you’ve been working on and battling over for a year or more? BADASS! It’s very important to pause and acknowledge your wins along the way.

When we consciously celebrate even a small victory we give ourselves a bump of dopamine which makes us feel good! It also helps us along the way to decrease burnout, acknowledge how the process got us to success, and keeps us pointed in a positive direction.

To celebrate even small wins however, we have to put in the work to accomplish the end result. And this takes diligent steps usually in a coordinated fashion. The fact is if we focus on the large picture of whatever we are trying to accomplish it can quickly become overwhelming and even a small setback can completely derail us from finishing what we set out to do. As a few former SEALs have told me when asked about how they were able to mentally make it through BUD/S they consistently had set micro goals especially when they were neck deep in the suck. “Just make it to the next meal” or Just make it until the sun comes back up” have been common themes and all of them have spoken about how they never focused on how many more weeks to go they had. They somehow knew that if they looked at the big picture and realized they had months of training left that it would have been too overwhelming. They also spoke about watching fellow classmates who had this longterm outlook simply quit because the amount of time left was too overwhelming.

So, how do we focus on micro goals and get the ultimate results we seek? One simple way to pair down any project or future achievement is to use a SMART goal framework. For the sake of this post and too keep with the micro goal theme try and set some SMART goals that will be achieved in as little as 10 days. Don’t forget to acknowldege when you hit the micro goal!

Don’t know what a SMART goal is? Well here’s the quick and dirty:

SMART stands for

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Time Bound.

By utilizing this simple framework and getting as specific as possible on it, we can quickly see results which then build momentum. Give this simple template a shot and let us know what you think!