Small Goals Are Like Cold Gravy on Biscuits

I’m a big believer in setting goals. Psychological research proves that being well-aimed in your behavior produces better results. Question is, what size of goals should you target?

Small goals are safe. They're comfortable. They let you sleep well at night because you know you can probably pull them off without much of a sweat.

But here's the thing about small goals—they're like cold gravy on biscuits. Sure, they'll fill you up, but they won't fire you up. They’re not particularly satisfying, and certainly not delicious.

Small goals are incremental thinking dressed up as ambition. They keep you busy, give you something to check off your list, and provide just enough progress to fool yourself into thinking you're really going somewhere.

Of course, your modest, everyday ambitions aren’t worthless. They’re good for to-do lists, and even for short-term or milestone goals. They can help you develop good habits. The problem is, small goals produce small results. They generate small energy, attract small resources, and inspire small commitment from the people around you. When you aim small, you think small, act small, and ultimately become small.

Big goals? That's where you get the real horsepower.

Highly challenging goals don't just change what you do, they change who you become. They force you to grow into the person capable of achieving them. They make you stretch beyond your current capabilities, beyond your comfort zone, beyond what you thought was possible.

When you set a goal that scares you a little, something magical happens. Your brain starts working differently. You begin seeing opportunities that were invisible before. Resources appear out of nowhere. People want to be part of something bigger than themselves, and suddenly you've got allies you never expected.

Small goals ask: "What can I probably accomplish?" Big goals demand: "What do I truly want to achieve?" Small goals are about managing what is. Big goals are about creating what could be.

Here's what really separates ambitious goals from small ones: the quality of problems they create. Small goals give you small problems—frustrations, minor obstacles, predictable challenges. Big goals create big problems that require creative thinking, new risks, and breakthrough strategies.

Those big problems? They're not bugs in the system—they're features. They force you to develop new muscles, build new capabilities, and discover strengths you didn't know you had.

The marketplace gives little reward for the incremental improvements from small goals. The big payoffs go to the breakthrough thinkers, the quantum leapers, and those with the courage to play a bigger game.

Stop settling for cold gravy. Turn up the heat. Set goals that make your pulse quicken and your imagination run wild.

When you aim higher, you don't just achieve more. You become more.