It was 1993, and I had just gotten back from my honeymoon with my beautiful wife in Bermuda.

We were living in New York at the time, and I had just picked up our pictures from the trip; excited, I promised my wife we would look at them together.

I put them in my backpack BUT before going home, I went over to help a friend of mine move.

We all put our personal belongings together & had a friend watching them.

When I returned to where I left the backpack & I didn’t see it…

“Where’s my backpack?”, I asked my friend watching all the stuff.

“Someone stole it and I couldn’t catch him… sorry.”

This took place in NYC near on 95th and Broadway.

I couldn’t believe it… What?! Are you kidding me?! (This was before digital cameras, so I hadn’t even seen them yet!)

I was mad, angry, panicked, sad, anxious and about every other emotion out there.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed?

And not just a little stressed – I mean COMPLETELY overwhelmed?!

How do you show up in moments like that?

In 2015, as a part of my coaching certification, I took an Energy Leadership Index Assessment (ELI). Unlike personality assessments, the ELI is an attitudinal assessment that reveals how you ‘show up’ in life and how stress affects your ability to lead the life you aspire to.

I liken it to an MRI for your attitude.

I was eager to see my results & remember looking up my synopsis, turning the pages, and then finding my analysis summarized in a few sentences:

People with this profile:

• Have great ideas but don’t know how to implement them.
  
• Need a lot of guidance.
  
• Also, they don’t enjoy working alone.
  

I was shocked – I wasn’t sure whether I should be happy because of what I’d learned or completely bummed. This wasn’t exactly the report I was hoping for…

The ELI nailed me exactly.

I felt exposed but not surprised. Like I’d been found out…

Looking at my results, I had two options:

Option A: Run and hide into the ‘shed of denial’, lock the door and blame the results on the fact that I must have been ‘having a bad day’ when I answered those questions. Stay the same.

Option B: Be open to, and face, the truth. Come up with plans to change and grow.

How do you feel when you receive results that are less than favorable?

Here are the THREE secrets that will keep you progressing towards your goals in 2018 no matter the circumstance you face…

Which option do you typically take – A or B?

Ever been in a similar situation where you feel ‘found out’?

On one hand, in your head you know it’s good to finally know the truth.

On the other hand, everything is telling you to minimize it & think ‘hey, you have made it this far in life’, you will figure out the rest...

Most of us have at least one area in our life where we are at least tempted with an ‘Option A’ response.

If that is you, guess what?

There is HOPE!

You CAN Change!

What’s the SECRET?

There is not anything that will sink your ‘new start’ faster than ‘Thinking Big AND Starting TOO BIG’.

Although an ambitious start (on paper) can be temporarily invigorating, it can also quickly lead to ‘overwhelm and overload.’

From there, the dominos of negative self-talk, frustration, and quitting on your goal altogether can start to fall.

We are 18+ days into the new year -maybe you are tempted to give up on the changes or plans that you had for this year.

Here’s the thing… you CAN have amazing changes in your life without all the drama and overwhelm.

In order to do this – you must...

Reconsider the conclusions you come to when things ‘don’t go your way’ (ie. I’m not strong enough, I don’t have enough time, etc…).

Why do we typically not experience the change in our lives we want?

One of the main reasons is that we get overwhelmed.

The task we want to accomplish or situation(s) we find ourselves in seem too big or too complicated for us to figure out or deal with.

Instead of slowing down and coming at them with creativity, faith, and hope, we ‘short circuit’ by thinking of all the ways things CANNOT work out & how we are NOT the best ones to come up the solution.

As mentioned above, this can be my ‘default’ state.

But it doesn’t have to be…

I don’t have to give into it, and neither do you!

After discussing with my wife, I remember her sharing with me that she was going to stop using the word ‘overwhelmed’. I was so proud of her. She realized that the word itself is heavy and faith stealing. It just doesn’t go anywhere.

Why not rather think:

You have the moment right now to Think Big and Start Small.

So there I was in the middle of Manhattan, one of the most massive cities in the world, fuming with all types of emotions about my lost honeymoon photos.

And after I calmed myself, I THOUGHT BIG – I am going to find them. I am going to find my honeymoon pictures in Manhattan. And I STARTED SMALL – digging through trash cans.

I did what I could – going through the trash cans was starting small.

Everyone thought I was crazy because we were so close to the train station and the thief probably jumped right on the train and on his way to another borough.

But, after hours of determination and looking through many many trash cans, someone called my apartment and left a message that they had found my bible.

My bible was in my backpack. (Yes!)

I go to their apartment and pick up my bible. No Backpack. No Photos.

But I don’t give up! I ask, “Where did you find it?”

They said, “101 ST and Amsterdam.” So, I head over in that direction as fast as I can and start to see church invitations that were in my backpack in puddles on the curb!

I start going through every trash can in sight and after more digging, I open up a brown paper bag at the bottom of one of the cans and guess what – I find all four rolls of film!!!!

No backpack, but the pictures –

What’s the point?

Think BIG (You will find the pictures) & START Small (check each trash can)

What are you looking for?

What is important to you?

What is your Think Big?

What ‘small thing’ will you do to start TODAY?

Don’t give up and don’t get discouraged!

It’s out there…

Might just have to get your hands a little ‘dirty’…

Write down three SMALL steps you can take this week to move you towards your Big Dream?

How can you shift to creativity and faith instead of negativity and anger?

Please leave me a comment below. Would love to hear your ‘Think BIG’ and your SMALL steps that will get you there!

Think Big – Start Small,

Dave

Looking for how to start small? Sometimes finding out a little more about ourselves can help – it sure helped me! Click the button below to learn more about the E.L.I. Assessment and Debrief and how it could help bring more direction to your growth in 2018!