How to Focus on the Forest and the Trees
LITTLE STEPS CREATE BIG ACTION
The forest would be nothing without it’s trees, which are smaller parts that make up the whole. The thought of navigating through the vast forest can feel overwhelming, but focusing on following the trail of trees in front of you can help the journey feel less so.
Let’s say you have a big idea for your next business move or personal life. You know what the end goal is, but the path to getting there feels muddy and messy. If you’re not comfortable with being uncomfortable, you’ll need to be in you’re going to bring your vision to life - growth is often uncomfortable because it’s new and unfamiliar by nature. In order to tread the mud, you’ve got to lace up your boots, and before you lace up your boots, you got to put your socks on. These small steps might seem insignificant, but they prepare you for the journey ahead and move you closer to the end, and help build energetic momentum in the direction you desire to go.
BRAIN DUMP + PRIORITIZE / ORGANIZE
I talk about the brain dumping strategy in other posts, because it’s so simple and effective at reducing the feeling overwhelm, and initiating that energetic momentum that helps us actualize our goals.
Take a blank piece of paper and pen, or open a fresh page in your notes app, and “brain dump” everything about your idea: the action steps you know you need to take, the questions you have, the names of the people to connect with that could help in moving you closer to your goal, the timelines you need to consider and account for…literally everything. Simply get it out of your mind and on the page.
Once you’ve dumped it all, then zoom out, organize, and prioritize. If this part feels overwhelming, identify ONE action step you can take that would bring you closer to your idea becoming a reality and complete it, or block out a time to get it done. Take it a step further by identifying the next step that makes sense for your goal and current demands on your time. Repeat this process until you have a comprehensive timeline created, and like the trees posted along your journey through the forest, follow this timeline to keep you on track as you move through the unknown toward your goal.
TUNE IN + TUNE OUT
Sometimes simply knowing the path isn’t enough. We grow tired of the work we’re putting in along the way, and we lose sight of our end goal. When this happens, I like to use what’s called “scripting” - a writing exercise that helps connect (or reconnect) to the energy that will be felt when your idea is actualized. In this exercise, you simply write in great detail about your future reality as if it’s already or currently happening. For example, if I wanted to take my cottage bakery and turn into a brick and mortar business, I would write something like…
“Today, I received the keys to the doors of my very own commercial bakery! The space is perfect - it already has the giant ovens and walk in cooler I need for baking and storing ingredients. The retail area gets so much natural light from the giant windows at the front. My first errand of the day will be grabbing paint swatches from Lowe’s so I can pick out the paint colors for the store front…”
After you write at least one full page of scripting (the more, the better), review what you wrote and think about what sorts of actions the version of you in your script would take - maybe you go to Lowe’s and get the paint swatches now and add them to your vision board for reference and inspiration, or maybe you consolidate and organize your recipes so you baking in your new space feels less like work, and more like fun. Then do those things. Tune in with scripting, and then tune out the noise, and focus on the vision by taking those little steps that move your energy in the direction of your goal, even if seemingly small.
PLANT > GROW > HARVEST
The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit. Trees take time to grow and are simply seeds before they become a forest. There are unavoidable phases to bringing any idea to life.
The idea is the seed. The brain dump is planting the seed. The little steps extracted, scheduled, and completed from the brain dump, the scripting, are all nourishment that help that seed of an idea grow until it’s ready for harvest, or will provide the shade within that forest you envisioned. Patience and consistency are required to see the seed of the idea through it’s journey to becoming a tree, and ultimately a forest.
“Doing it all” while trying to remain consistent can be a challenge for a singular person. Nothing of greatness (like a forest) is accomplished alone (like the forest, it’s seeds need the sun, rain from the clouds, minerals from the soil, etc.) in order to grow. Hiring an assistant to tend to the soil beneath the trees on the days when you need rest, or space to focus on pruning the branches, so that they have more room to grow into their fullest potential, can help your forest (i.e. your business) flourish.
