How to Break Down Goals into Achievable Steps with SCAMP
One of the reasons people struggle to make progress is that their goals may be too broad or overwhelming. It’s good to have a big picture outlook, but it’s necessary to break that big picture into reasonable chunks.
All goals are made up of micro goals…the things you need to do to achieve said goal. As my dad used to say, “If you want to do something, you have to do something else first.”
Take cooking dinner, for example. Before you can cook dinner, you need to have the ingredients. Before you get the ingredients, you need to have gas in the car. It’s a Russian doll of tasks and this can get overwhelming if you start looking at ALL the tasks that need to be done.
Why it’s important to break down goals into achievable steps
But, if you take them one doll at a time the task is feasible. And the cool thing is, you probably have some of the tasks already completed! Let’s continue with the dinner example.
You probably already have:
Gas in the car. DONE!
Ingredients in the pantry. DONE!
Dishes in the cupboard. DONE!
Ah, but the recipe requires a certain spice or an unusual vegetable…and the dishes are actually in the sink waiting to be washed. Now you have to do some thinking about if you really want to cook this meal…
Use the SCAMP framework to break down goals
Let’s bring in the SCAMP framework:
S – Solid and Strategic: Is this dinner strategically aligned with your long-term aspirations of eating healthy? Yes! CHECK! (This keeps you from being aimless in your eating habits)
C – Core Values: Is this dinner aligned with your core value of raising healthy kids? Yes! CHECK! (This motivates you to actually do the work to cook better food)
A – Actionable: Is this recipe simple enough to complete, even with those crazy vegetables? Yes! CHECK! (This keeps you from throwing in the towel because something is “too hard”.)
M – Measurable: What are the vitamins and minerals you’ll get? How many calories? How much will you and your kids actually eat of this meal? All of it! CHECK! (This keeps you motivated and shows your progress)
P – Plan: Is there a recipe, or are you winging it? There’s a recipe! CHECK! (This gives you the structure as you move forward.)
With all this in place, you decide it is totally worth getting in the car, driving to the store, picking up the extra things, coming home, and cleaning the dishes in the sink in order to have this amazing meal for you and your family.
If any of these items are off, you’ll probably push this dinner to another day when it’s more convenient and break out the Mac’n’Cheese.
Build momentum by breaking down goals into achievable steps
When you are clear on your motivations and values, and the goal is in line with them, you will do the hard things to make it happen.
It doesn’t matter if it’s dinner or a new business, by breaking the goal down into smaller steps and mapping each step to your BIG Dream the motivation shows up, and you do the work. It makes it easy to decide on commitment over convenience. This is when leaps are made and magic happens.
When you focus on one clear, strategic step at a time, you create momentum, confidence, and progress that builds naturally and you transform the impossible into progress. The SCAMP framework helps you stay grounded in your values, aligned with your purpose, and motivated by results you can actually see.
If you’re ready to start mapping out your next chapter with clarity, grab your SCAMP Infographic, it’s a powerful, visual guide that helps you set Solid, Core-Aligned, Actionable, Measurable, and Planned goals that actually move you closer to your dream.