Goals are big dreams. Achieving them is all about little choices.
Choices in life are like Legos. Each piece, in itself, doesn’t seem like much.
But as each piece is connected to another, and another, and another, the bigger picture from your small efforts starts to emerge.
In the real word, those little decisions happen. like a Lego, piece by piece, every day.
If your goal is trying to get into your best shape, do you choose to drink that six-pack of beer with friends while watching the game?
It’s just one night and a few drinks, right? Just one little Lego piece in life, right?
That Value Meal at McDonalds for lunch the next day is also just one little Lego, right? Yet somehow, two weeks later, from these little moment, you gained two pounds.
You want to retire in comfort. So do you spend $4 on that latte on the way to work?
Why not? It’s just a cup of coffee, right? What’s $4?
You might have heard about “The Latte Factor” by The Automatic Millionaire author David Bach. Financially, it’s a good example of how those Lego pieces build into something bigger.
What if you choose not to buy that one $4 cup of coffee and, instead, chose to invest it in an account that grows at 8% annually for 35 years. That one cup, would turn into over $59 in 35 years.
If you’re habitually getting a latte on your way to work, you are making that one little choice every day. Imagine if you made the choice to invest the next day’s $4 latte (+$59), and the next day’s (+$59). And the next (+$59). That one little choice that could create six-figure results over your lifetime.
We as human beings we are simply not good as seeing large value or threats that approach us or impact us incrementally. Instead we tend to seek that easy, quick big win. Hitting the lottery. Start saving for retirement only when you get that big high-paying job.
That’s how we lose our way from getting to the goals that truly make up happy. Little moments we don’t take advantage of. We fail to see how a small choice, one little, tiny step can change our life immensely.
The choice we need to make is not always between good and bad. It’s usually between quick wins (yummy latte today) and long-term happiness (retired and sitting on my own private beach).
What do you want to do? The (little) choice is yours.