As I write this, I have a copy of the book, “The Magic of Thinking Big” sitting on my desk. The book has sold over 1,000,000 copies. I have encountered many in my readings who cite it as pivotal in the grand scheme of their success (most recently Tim Ferris, author of “The 4 Hour Work Week”.)
The problem however with thinking big is that many of us get lost in the vastness of big. It is so large, so daunting, so immense, that we don’t know where to begin.
It’s like being in a ginormous shopping mall for the first time and staring helplessly at the in-store map that correctly points out, “You are here.” Being “here” is the easy part. Getting “there” is our problem.
The difficulty lies in the fact the gap from where we are to where we want to end up is immense, convoluted and wrought with unforeseen obstacles and roadblocks.
Think about those things you would really like to see happen that have not: losing weight, exercising, changing careers, being happy, mending broken or strained relationships, having more confidence, or meeting new people to name a few.
It’s not that we don’t want to do those things, its just that we are so fixated on the end result that we become deflated trying to find a way to achieve them.
Perhaps the model of thinking big is flawed, misleading or incomplete.
What if there was a different model for making change? One that produced better results immediately.
The Magic of Thinking Small…
That idea of thinking small probably goes against everything you have ever been taught. To be honest, it goes against everything I have ever been taught.
I was first introduced to this concept years ago when I read the “Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.”(Although I didn’t comprehend this concept until recently…ok busted..it was yesterday.)
One section of the book highlighted his desire to improve his character. He identified 13 traits that he wanted to develop and each week picked one to focus on, leaving the others to fall to chance.
Below are the 13 in the words he used to describe them.
1. “TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.”
2. “SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.”
3. “ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.”
4. “RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”
5. “FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.”
6. “INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.”
7. “SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.”
8. “JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”
9. “MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.”
10. “CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.”
11. “TRANQUILITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.”
12. “CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.”
13. “HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.”
Six things struck me most about this, other than the fact that I giggled like a school girl when I read the word chastity. I have never heard anyone use the word chastity in a sentence…EVER…other than in reference to Cher’s daughter.
- his recognition that you can’t focus on everything that needs to be changed. Pick one thing and make that your focus.
- he chose a manageable time frame that was neither too short nor too long (one week)
- the list is manageable topping out at unlucky 13. Most people have more items on a daily to do list.
- each trait was focused on intently for one month over the course of an entire year
- he actually had a plan that was mapped out on paper (perhaps parchment or bark in his case) with clear guidelines and parameters
- this was repeated for the rest of his adult life (he started when he was 20; he died when he was 84)
Applying this to our own lives…
It’s important to note that thinking big is actually very important in the magic of thinking small. Just like the mall example above, you need to know where you are headed otherwise you will end up wandering aimlessly, getting nowhere.
Sometimes we mistake movement for direction. Think of it like those little kids (or me on one brief occasion back in university) who ride those little electric horses or cars in the mall or grocery stores.
Just because they are moving doesn’t mean they are going anywhere.
Update: On that occasion, I did get somewhere pretty quick with the help of two very large unhappy security guards who were kind enough to escort me off the premises. I couldn’t be certain, but I wondered if the mall map now read, “You were here!”
Once you know where you want to go, you can then create your list of smaller tasks or goals to be accomplished.
Below are a list of areas where this might be applied.
- Diet. What if we identified all the foods we needed to eliminate from our diet and then each week picked one? What if we eliminated one and added a healthy choice like a fresh fruit or vegetable in its place? How might that enhance our health?
- Exercise. What if each week we added a bit more to your new workout regime. What if week one simply consisted of 3 days, where we committed to 10 minutes for each session. What if week two was 15 minutes and week 3 was 20. What kind of results might we see in 1 month? 3 months? 1 year?
- Unwanted traits. What if we identified those areas that we wanted to eliminate. What about a week with no complaining? A week without disparaging remarks about others? A week without swearing? I know some of probably just went, “WTF!”
- Desired traits. What about a week where we focus on catching people doing something right? A week where we write out thank you notes to those who assist us along the way. A week of getting up early each day to see the sunrise.
- Relationships. What about a week being the best husband or wife or mother or father so son or daughter or friend or neighbour or stranger (smiling and saying hello to those you pass that you do not know.)
The opportunities are endless. It does require some thought and some planning. But just imagine what you could accomplish with a focused plan geared towards improving one area of your life one week at a time.
*****
I have begun to incorporate this plan into my own life under my QuitlList tab. I have 4 categories of challenges: 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, and permanent.
Check out…
My 1 week challenge for this week is to handle my email only once so my inbox is empty at the end of each day. Click here to see the rules of the challenge.
My 1 month challenge for the month of November is to solidify my workout regime. I created a short video for this. It is only 3 minutes long. You will want to see the special guest appearance that is made at the 2:55 mark. Click here to see the video.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think of my challenges or let me know what challenges you are going to take up.
To ideas worth quitting,
Dean
