Draw The Elephant
- The Mindful Balance
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
This morning, I came across an Instagram post by @Christi.Newrutzen whose theme is, "How long does it actually take?"
In the post, she had drawn an elephant across the backs of a stack of cards and hung them up. A very fun take on How To Eat An Elephant. Each card represented one small task. As each task was completed, you flipped over a card, and eventually the elephant appeared.
Her point about decision fatigue was beautifully practical.
Instead of writing down "Clean the kitchen," you break it into smaller pieces. Each card becomes one achievable action instead of one overwhelming project. Essentially, taking small metaphorical bites of your elephant. I loved the idea!
But then something happened. My brain didn't stop at her concept.
It immediately asked: "What if this works for my goals?"
Because lately I've been sitting with a lot of moving pieces.
I'm writing Safety is Sexy.
Building a website.
Applying for grants.
Growing my business.
Creating content.
Developing new offerings.
Supporting channeling clients.
Trying to remember all of the weekly things I already do that somehow never make it onto a to-do list because they're simply my new normal.
When I looked at all of it together, it became one giant elephant.
Not impossible. Just... enormous.
Then I remembered those little cards.
Instead of creating one massive master list that would overwhelm me every time I looked at it, I started creating categories.
One category for my book.
One for my website.
One for grants.
One for income streams.
One for my weekly rhythm.
One for social media.
One for my body and well-being.
One for serving my channeling clients.
Inside each category, I started asking a different question. Not: "What is the end goal?" But: "What is the smallest real step?"
"Apply for grants" became:
Find five grants. Create a spreadsheet. Save the application links. Gather my reusable application materials.
Suddenly, I wasn't staring at an impossible task anymore. I was simply choosing the next card in my own elephant that I felt called to work on that week.
And that's when something else clicked. This doesn't just apply to productivity. It's about how almost everything meaningful is built one brick at a time.
You don't write a book. You write paragraphs.
You don't build trust in one conversation. You notice hundreds of small moments that teach your nervous system what safety feels like.
You don't create a business in one giant leap. You make one decision. Then another. Then another.
The funny part is that a simple elephant concept ended up changing my entire goal planning process. Instead of one enormous list, I now can bite off weekly elephant pieces.
Each week, I choose one. I complete it. I flip it over. Little by little, the elephant appears.
I knew immediately that when I drew my own elephant, it would be Ganesha. The remover of obstacles, often prayed to when starting new projects.
What surprised me most was how much joy it brought back into planning.
The goal didn't change. The way I related to the goal did. And maybe that's the real lesson.
Because we don't need smaller dreams, we need smaller steps.
Dreams become reality when we stop asking ourselves to carry the whole elephant at once.
One bite. One piece. One card. One choice. One week.
Eventually, you look up and realize you've drawn something much bigger than you ever could have imagined.
So today, I started drawing my own elephant. And I have a feeling this is only the beginning.
I’d love to hear from you. Share your experiences with goals and overwhelm!
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Until next time, Stephanie + Spirit
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