Just Start…


I’ve written about the power of the word “decide” and will have more on that later in “A Model for Getting Stuff Done”. The goal here is to keep it simple…

Whether large goals or small, we can all struggle at times to make the progress we would like. Often, we convince ourselves that we simply do not know how or where to start. We are under the impression that starting requires a straight path, swept clean. At no point in time has any endeavor of any significance been that easy. Seneca himself said that “we suffer more in imagination than in reality”. Isn’t that what procrastination is, just a form of suffering? The easiest way to relieve that suffering is to start, even if starting means the smallest of actions. The key word being “actions”. Why? Because even the most minute step towards a goal feels like a win. This is the reason large goals should always be broken down into smaller goals that can be achieved AND celebrated.

I’ve always illustrated with the climbing of a mountain. Stand back and just look at it and you are likely overwhelmed by the enormity. You may, very quickly, conclude that it is impossible to scale. For you, anyway…. What if you just put your head down and start walking? At some point, you’ll find that you’ve made it to the base or that the incline was so gradual that you were on your way up the mountain before you realized it. Up close, you find a place to grab here, a foothold there. But only because you are up close.

Other endeavors are no different. Take out a pen and a piece of paper. Write down the goal and your best guess at what is required. Don’t know how to do something? Books, YouTube, Google… There are answers to be found. The reality is that starting is the only way anything gets done. You don’t know what you don’t know, but starting a process makes you figure it out. The smallest of steps will be followed by another. Each step feels like progress, because it is progress. That progress builds momentum and confidence.

Ease the suffering. Give yourself a win. And just start…

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