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.

The work begins by thinking about how you’re going to set your goal in the first place. Doing so in the right way – by focusing on a single objective, being clear about your target and when you’re going to achieve it by – will require a bit of effort upfront.

One of our favourites is a classic marketing study that shows that setting expiry dates for coupons is better than giving people all the time in the world to use them. Regardless of whether they’re valid for long or short periods, the coupons experience what the researchers describe as an ‘expiration bump’. In other words, as the deadline approaches, the consumers, eager to ensure they don’t miss out, make sure that they use the coupons.28

Now that you’ve got a single, headline goal, you will need to start being clear about what success looks like. This means setting yourself a clear target