I love this! The first time I heard it I was younger – living in South Africa with my mom and sister. And my mom asked me this question. I was shocked that people ATE ELEPHANTS! It seemed outrageous, but after she explains the meaning I was less worried about elephants and more concerned with what it all meant.
But in true teenage fashion – I forgot it really quickly. And it was only a number of years later than it came back into my mind.
I remember sitting in my car, after driving 5 hours to get to a client’s site to work, and I felt tired, homesick, and just over the work, I was doing. I loved the people and the training but the travel was too much. It took all the joy away from the process.
I knew something had to change, but I was so overwhelmed, I sat in my car and wanted to just cry! But I knew that wouldn’t solve anything. As I sat there, a strange thought occurred to me – how would I eat this elephant? And was it an ELEPHANT!
After some planning I came to the conclusion on how to move forward, it wasn’t a solution it was just to make a plan.
How I created my plan:
- Write down the end goal that I want to achieve
- Write down the things that will stop me from achieving that goal right now
- Write down what success will look like if I achieve that goal.
- Write down what 2 steps I could take this week to move towards the goal.
- Write down 2 more steps for the next 3 weeks.
- Draw a scale of 1 – 10 and rate how much I want this change to happen in my life.
Now, this is only half of the journey. You will definitely not eat an elephant just by thinking about eating one. You can write all the lists in the world, but if you are not ready and willing to change then nothing will happen.
So how do you prepare for change?
- Be kind to yourself – changing a habit takes 66 days
- Be prepared for the voices in your head that tell you “you can’t”, “this won’t work”, “why am I even bothering”
“All change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and so gorgeous at the end.” – Robin Sharma.
- Set small achievable tasks to master (small and steady wins every time)
- Dedicate 30 minutes a day to making the change happen in your life
- Take one small action even when it seems hard or you don’t feel like it.
Every time you have that moment where you think “I have nothing more in me” that is the most precious opportunity, as it gives you the ability to take one more step and prove to yourself that you can. It gives you the opportunity to strengthen your willpower and create a better and stronger self.
By using these same techniques in your business you will ensure continued growth and development.
Come over a follow me on Instagram for live training session on Tuesday and Thursday at 2pm or over on Facebook for live Q&A session at 11.30 and you can ask me anything about business!
See you tomorrow!