Think and plan big

We achieve less than what we visualise in our plans because we lack a certain child-like outlook.

Last week, we were watering our garden, while our little son, who has just started talking and walking, was playing with a small bucket full of water. Suddenly, an idea struck my wife’s mind about teaching him how to water plants. She showed him how to fill water into a mug and pour it onto the plants.

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After some efforts and explaining, he took to the task very well, drawing compliments from both of us. However, after doing the task for a while, he stopped the exercise. He wanted that small bucket with which he was playing. Initially, we refused as we weren’t sure if he could carry that kind of weight, but our doubts were quickly dispelled when he took to the task quiet easily.

He was able to carry thrice the amount of water in that small bucket just as easily as he carried the mug full. He was able to achieve more than we thought he could. While my wife and I were delighted to see that even at such a tender age of 15 months, his outlook on life was so broad and unconstrained that he was able to think big enough to get past our expectations. This forced me to think how we restrict our lives (and sometimes, others’ as well) by failing to think in large enough terms.

To achieve a big feat, it’s important that we think big and plan big. I’m reminded of what David J. Schwartz, an American motivational writer, once said, “Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success.”