Article: The most important part of accomplishing big goals is realizing that you need the help and support of people who care about you. Having a support system in place can help you stay motivated. Surrounding yourself with supportive people doesn't mean surrounding yourself with people who will never critique your plans. You want people who will be honest with you and help you to improve your ideas. For example, if you're working on that speech for school, and you're committed to doing something different with it, ask a friend to listen to what you have and be honest about how they think it's going. It might be painful to hear that they think what you're trying just doesn't work, but it will ultimately make you better. And getting a new perspective helps you stay motivated. You can also ask your support system to help keep you accountable. Share your deadlines or smaller step goals with them and ask them to check in with you. Be careful of becoming overly reliant on others, too. If you spend too much time getting other people's opinions and following their suggestions, you'll get really good at helping them think big, but won't do so well thinking big for yourself. Criticism can be helpful sometimes, but it is important not to base your worth on what other people think. Relying too much on other people's opinions can be self-limiting. It's easy to feel like you're not getting any closer to accomplishing your goals when you're focused on the little, everyday things you need to do to get there. Celebrating small victories can help you feel like you are accomplishing something because you are! and keep up your motivation. For example, if your goal is to have a best-selling book, you might celebrate the day you finish your research. Or the day you write a chapter. Or even when you get more than one page written in a sitting. You can celebrate in a lot of different ways, and they don't have to be expensive. Reward yourself with a piece of chocolate when you check off one of your steps. Or enjoy having a night off and binge a new TV show on a Saturday night. It doesn't really matter how you celebrate as long as you take a moment (or longer) to acknowledge that you're making progress. Try placing a calendar on your wall and crossing off all of the goals you have accomplished, no matter how small. If you focus too much on all the ways you might fail, or might fall short of your initial goal, you'll never have the motivation to get started. Everyone fails from time to time, and it's okay. Make a list of the ways that you might fail or fall short, and accept that they are distinct possibilities as you work to accomplish your big goals. If you do fail, remember that your failure doesn't define you. Assess what led to your failure and start again. Keep in mind that success is not a straight line from point A to point B. There will be challenges and setbacks along the way. Learn about some of the challenges you may face and consider how you will handle them.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Develop a support system. Celebrate small victories. Don't be afraid of failure.