Think Big: Take Small Steps and Build the Future You Want

by Dr Grace Lordan

Katie represents those who on the surface seem to have it all figured out, but really yearn for something different. Katie could do with disrupting her work life and thinking bigger.

But Reyansh isn’t satisfied. Being a barista is fine, but it was always intended as a stop gap. For one thing, the pay isn’t great. For another, while making coffee and hanging out with people is fun, he craves something deeper and more meaningful from his work.

Perhaps you picked up this book because you’re facing a similar problem. Maybe you know where you want to be in your career, but you don’t know how to get there. Maybe you don’t even know that – you simply know that you aren’t where you’re supposed to be right now. Or maybe you feel as though you know where you want to go, and know, on paper, how to get there, but somebody else is preventing you from doing it – a bad boss, say, or an unhelpful colleague.

Unfortunately, the process which determines who gets what reward and why is not exact, and is often unfair. Great new products fail daily, real talent goes unnoticed, and valuable innovations are cast aside. Cognitive biases are often the reason why our ideas falter and careers stall. These biases have likely impacted you and your career over and over and over again.

If you buy a book that promises you a new destination – or a major life change – in one week or one month, I hope it’s refundable. We all have the potential to achieve great things, but if it were that easy, everyone would be doing it.

As a thought experiment, cast your mind back to the person you were five years ago. Make a mental note of any major changes you have experienced in your life since then.

Make a list of all the notable changes you can recall. Now, make a list of the changes you think you will make in the next five years.

But, as humans, we are impatient. We generally favour a lofty goal over short periods because we are excited to walk in the shoes of our improved selves sooner rather than later. And that’s pretty understandable. But it also sets us up for failure.

Behind a spectacular two-week turnaround there’s often years of structured and sustained effort. It is this effort that causes the success. It doesn’t make for a neat newspaper headline or an exciting party anecdote – but it’s the truth. In most cases, the person who is deemed an overnight success has long been quietly honing their craft and creating opportunities so they can finally be recognized for their expertise.

First, there must be something well-defined to aim for. You need a big-thinking goal. This is what you visualize when you think big. What is your goal? What does your future self look like? When deciding what this goal is, you will also need to identify the activities that allow you to achieve it.

Second, you need to find time to take those small steps. More than that, you need to recognize that humans have a tendency to be impatient – we favour spending time engaged in activities that bring us immediate gratification.

Third, your own cognitive biases have the potential to sabotage your big thinking. Looking inside yourself and learning what these biases are is essential.

Fourth, the cognitive biases of others can hinder and derail your progression. Looking to the outside world and identifying what these biases are, and learning how to navigate around them,

Fifth, understanding how the physical environment that you spend your time in affects the possibility of you realizing your big-thinking goal is an essential component to moving forward.

Negative thinking patterns can start in childhood. For example, if you didn’t receive much attention from your parents, as an adult you may automatically think ‘I’m just not good enough’ when things don’t go your way.

If you only focus on money, you will lose the chance to find out what you love doing. You will also miss out on the opportunity to get paid for doing it.

Try to connect with people who have the skills you are trying to acquire, regardless of their level of experience. Do not solely look to those who are ahead of you; identify colleagues at any stage of their career who you see as being like ME+ in some regard.

You know for sure that you want a different future self, but still do not know what you will be doing. How can you possibly engage in continuous learning that propels you forward? How can you know what to do? In this case, you need to cast a wider net, as you take some time to identify your interests and ultimately your passion. Keeping your options open allows you to discover new opportunities.

Your objective should be to narrow your interests over time, so you are writing the CV of an expert in your future role, with your regular continuous learning becoming an established ‘no pain’ habit.

if you manage to get into the zone, you can expect to be tired afterwards. Why? Because you have been focusing so intensely it saps your energy. Therefore, ninety minutes is about all you can achieve in a session, regardless of how much free time you have.