Think Small

To achieve big, you will need to think small

• Create an actionable plan

One of the most surprising pieces of advice to come out of the wellbeing literature perhaps is the importance of developing your curiosity. At the simplest level, this is about actively seeking to ‘take notice’ of the sights, sounds and sensations around you and to savour these moments.

We usually assume that when we set ourselves a goal we will probably pursue it with focus and attention, drawing heavily on our slower, reflective system.

It’s a curious and wonderful thing about the human condition that we are often a mystery to ourselves

Think Small is not a checklist.

trengthening your social relationships;

getting healthy and active;

learning something new;

being more curious; and

giving to others.

Psychologists have dubbed these ‘bright lines’, and they are effective because they’re unambiguous. You know instantly when you’ve stepped over a bright line, which significantly reduces the cognitive effort required to put the rule into practice.

Keep it simple. You should create simple, clear rules that reduce the mental effort required to stick to your goal and let you know when you are transgressing from your objective.

Create an actionable plan. You’ll find that being able to state how, when and where you’re going to take the actions needed to achieve each of these steps will make it more likely that you’ll follow through.

Turn the plan into habits. By repeating the same actions in response to the same cues, you’ll be able to create habits that make it much easier to achieve your goal.

The third and final group were asked what time they would vote, where they would be coming from and what they would be doing beforehand. These additional questions – where, when and how – were deliberately designed to encourage plan making. The voters were being asked to make a simple, cognitive link between moments in their day and the action of voting