The Power of Small:To Achieve Big Goals, Think Small

Many people like to dream big and think big. Unfortunately, the sheer amount of effort to accomplish their big goals simply overwhelms them. For instance, take a routine activity like walking across the street. You take one step at a time and you get the job done. But if I ask you to leap across the street, could you do it? This is why you should dream big and think small!

Think small is a simple but powerful idea that helped many people succeed. The most popular example in personal finance sphere is probably Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps. Knowing that it’s too overwhelming for people to go from “broke and in debt” to “financial freedom”, he advocates taking small steps to turn your finances around.

Likewise, you can apply the concept of “think small” in many ways. For example:

• Instead of trying to add $5,000 a year to your IRA account (or TFSA account in Canada), it’s easier to add $416 a month, or better yet $192 every two weeks.
• You can start your retirement today, by saving 25 times the value of your annual expense on an item. For example, let’s say you spend $100 a year on magazine subscriptions. You could set aside $2,500 and try to get 4% return on investment, or $100 per year from it. If you can accomplish this, your magazine expense is retired for life.
• You can make small changes to significantly improve your business’s bottom line. For example, by improving the number of leads, conversion rate, returning customers, revenue per customer, and lowering your costs.

Basically, you can break down any big goal into smaller, more achievable sub-goals. And likewise, you can achieve significant result by making small improvements. How can you apply this to your own situation?

• Don’t be paralyzed by the big picture and start making small adjustments today.
• Make small regular contributions to your retirement savings and emergency fund.
• Cut your household expenses $100 at a time.

Think small and do something today.

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Pinyo is the owner and primary author of Moolanomy Personal Finance blog. Moolanomy focuses on practical money management concepts, personal finance tips, and wealth building. If you like this article, please visit his blog. Lastly, you can leave financial question on Moolanomy Answers where Pinyo and other community members participate to provide you with answers.