What big, scary goal are you putting off?

I live in Dust City.   It’s not much, but it’s home. And it has air conditioning - which, on days like this with a humidex of 42 degrees, is rather helpful!  

Dust City is NOT the most beautiful place in the world.   Yet I choose to live here!  In fact, “move to Dust City - temporarily” appears on my Annual Goals list that I wrote in January.  :)

Now, if I’m being completely truthful, this goal does exist, but I actually called it something else - more on that later.   The measurement of success for this particular goal was:

“Make the main floor/kitchen reno happen!”

Our kitchen is/was almost 35 years old.  Yep. Yellow-y/orange-y hardwood floors with lots of damage from scraping chairs.   Original arborite counters coming up at the seams.  Below-code electrical.  Not enough room to pass at the ends of the island.  Plenty of lipstick (paint) liberally applied over the 16 years we’ve lived here.

We made it work, and it really wasn’t so bad.  Circumstances had dictated that we wait before diving into a large scale reno.  For the 13 years my dad lived with us until he passed a year ago, it felt impossible to undertake a massive reno without displacing him temporarily.  Plus, life was busy.

In January, as I started to emerge somewhat from the grief cloud I was under, I sat down to figure out my goals for the year, both business AND personal.   I knew I had ambitious ideas for new programs and initiatives, and I also knew that I needed to build in JOY to fuel and inspire me.

Hence, a new goal called “infuse joy and creativity” bubbled up and onto the page.  When I thought about HOW I could accomplish this, I realized it might be time to tackle replacing the kitchen and our old floors and getting rid of the damn popcorn ceilings!  

I stared at that goal.  Hmmmmmm.  Asked myself: “Do I really want to take this on?   Looks like a LOT O’ WORK!”   And dust - to which I am highly allergic.  

I almost crossed it out. 

But I didn’t.  

So what allowed me to not only keep it on the goals list, but actually make this joyful, creative  renovation project a reality?

I broke the goal down into quarterly chunks. And then into monthly tasks.

That’s it. And then I ONLY focused on the tasks outlined for the quarter or month I was in.  

• Q1’s task was to research and book 3 kitchen company consults. (in the end I did 6 - I’m picky!)  
• Q2’s task was to choose the company and design and book the installation.  
• Q3’s was to create a project plan (I’m the General Contractor/Coordinator) and find and book the electrician, hardwood flooring, popcorn guy, lighting fixtures, sink, faucet, appliances, etc.
• Q4 is all about finishing touches (read:  backsplash by my hubby) and enjoying our new space!

I still felt overwhelmed in January as I started to research kitchen designs and costs - I felt anxious when I started thinking about the mountain of tasks later in the year.  But I know from experience that when I chunk out the goal and JUST GET STARTED, it always leads to forward momentum and gets me further along than if I had never begun.  

What is something you’ve been putting off that you would like to make happen but are scared of the effort or the DUST it might kick up?

• How might you break it down into a manageable timeline?  

• What is ONE ridiculously small baby step you could take today?  (you can always step back if it’s too scary, too soon)