Small Steps to Help Your Loved One Progress
by
PSN Team 
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Help your loved one progress
As families, we are always looking for the ‘big win,’ but they are hard to come by. And to feel like we are making progress, we must string several ‘big wins’ together. Many things have to go right, and a lot of luck and hard work goes into it – which is why feeling like you are making progress is rare for most families. You are left feeling disappointed.
In my coaching practice with families, we take a different approach: Small steps to progress. I’ll outline how it works.
First, we set 1-year goals because setting goals clarify what you want and give a direction to head toward. But goals also have a downside – if you don’t achieve the goal, you can become demotivated and give up. This can make you feel more stuck than you were before you started.
So we don’t stop there. Next, we create a three (3) month action plan with the exact steps to bring the goal to life. This is where the magic of making progress is – the small steps.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say your 1-year goal with your loved one is to help them become independent in making their own meals within the next 12 months. We want to simplify this goal into attainable steps with a 3-month action plan. So our 3-month action plan might be to support our loved one in learning how to make a simple breakfast meal. Okay, great, this is now feeling more attainable! Next, you want to outline the specific small steps. For example, Step 1: discuss 3 simple breakfast meals with loved one and have loved one pick the meal they want to learn. Step 2: Demonstrate how to make the meal for your loved one. Step 3: Instruct your loved one on how to make the meal and adapt the task as needed.
Step 4, Step 5, etc… you get the idea. And you can see how the small steps are the secret sauce to progress.
Give it a try! Set a 1-year goal and break it down with your small steps to get there!
If you want to learn more about supporting your loved one to grow, you’re invited to Eric’s free ‘Growing Independence Workshop’.
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This post originally appeared on our July/August 2022 Magazine
