Getting the Right Size

When we look at the task before us in order to be successful in Scouting, business or life in general, we can quickly be overwhelmed.  Our dreams and goals should always be impossible so that we reach and grow in their pursuit.  At the same time, those impossible dreams can be more than we know how to handle.  This brings us to the old adage, "How do you eat an elephant?  One bit at a time."

                When we are pursuing any goal, it is always best to cut it down to size.  By that, I mean to plan it in doable segments.  No matter how big the goal may be, you will get there one step at a time.  Never any faster than that.  So why try to do it all at once?  Tackle your goals just one step at a time.

“Scouting is a man's job cut down to a boy's size.”

– Sir Robert Baden-Powell

(1857-1941)

Founder of the Boy Scouts

                As Scouts work on projects, whether they be badges, ranks or something a big as an Eagle project, they learn to plan things out, step by step and take it on with focus and determination. The point is never just getting it done. I know that is a battle for all of us. We all look to “Just get this done”. But Scouts learn that the process is as important as the finished project. What we do with excellence does not have to be redone. As coach John Wooden used to say, “If you do not have the time to do it right, how will you have the time to do it over?”

Here is a simple exercise you can do to help you grasp this process.  Sit down and write out your goal as clearly and in as much detail as you can.  Now answer this question: "What is the first thing I have to do?"  If this does not come to you right away, try working backward.  Look at the achieved goal and see what you did just before you achieved it, then what was before that and so on.

                When you have the first step written down, do that.  Then go to the next step and so forth.  Soon you will learn that anything is possible, one step at a time.  The full goal will always be and should be, bigger than you can handle, but when cut down to size, it is a journey you will be excited to make.  As Dr. Robert H. Schuller, founding Pastor of the Chrystal Cathedral said, "Yard by yard everything is hard.  Inch by inch, everything a cinch."

                When we take on something in big steps that overwhelm us we find discouragement and frustration. Take that same task and do it in easy to manage bits, you firn excitement, and progress. Never set yourself up to fail. Never hide from the difficult. Take that elephant and start one bit at a time. You will not only eat the whole thing in time but find he really did not taste that bad.

You matter!  You matter to the world and to yourself.  Remember to be your best, love God, have good manners, achieve the unknown and change your world.

Scouting Out of Uniform is a personal blog based on the lessons learned from Scouting that relate to personal development and success principles and is not an official site of The Boy Scouts of America. John Patrick Hickey does not represent or speak for the Scouting program; however, he does completely support and encourages Scouting for both young and old. John Patrick Hickey is an author, speaker, Personal Development Coach and proud Scouter. To read more from John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book