“Just keeping taking bites out of the elephant,” was a phrase my husband and I coined during a (frequently overwhelming) house renovation. It was a way of reminding ourselves that there was no way everything was going to be accomplished immediately—not to mention perfectly.

It’s a phrase I have been reminding myself of a lot as I begin what can only be described as a ‘course correction’ in my career: a change in focus toward those things that make me want to get back into my office and—more importantly—make me smile.

The reason for this frequent reminder is that too often we feel—I feel—like any new idea (not to mention a new incarnation) needs to manifest fully formed; needing only the slightest burnishing of detail to be perfect. 

Can we all agree this is ridiculous?

Because at this point, I don’t see a linear path to where it is I want to go. Instead, I have been poking here, nibbling there…Turning my ideas this way and that to see what will be the best way to remove the obstacles in my path.

“Why an elephant?” You might ask. Because Lord Ganesh (the elephant god of the Hindu religion) is the remover of obstacles. Given that, he seems like a likely, lovely candidate to ruminate upon as I consider my next steps.

(FYI: I had a Ganesh, made of ganache, on top of my wedding cake. That is he, on the left, above. The right is a lovely Ganesh statue that has a place of honor in my front hall.) 

So if you, too, are considering a course correction of any kind, my recommendation is to cut yourself some slack. Give up the idea that it will happen in a smooth, linear, overnight kind-of-way. Instead, I recommend acknowledging that something this big needs to happen in stages…in lots of small bites.

Bites that are—ideally—covered in ganache.

For more on the importance of goal setting in stages, take a look at “Don’t Try to Drink the Ocean: The Importance of Setting 3-Day, 3-Month and 3-Year Goals.“