The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step -Lao-Tzu
The first step to achieving a goal – any goal – is to simply get started. And yet how often do we hear about people who wanted to do something but never done it? In fact, how many times have you failed to achieve your goals just because you couldn’t begin?
Maybe you are tired of your 9 to 5 job, wanting to create your own business but don’t know where to start? Or you want get into a better shape, know that you need to exercise but can’t take that first step and get into the gym? How about eating healthier? Or asking someone you like out? The list goes on and on.
Well, I’ve got news for you: you are not alone. So many people (myself included) struggle with this and it can get really overwhelming. Yes, we all have a few things that we are putting on the back burner because we tell ourselves that tricky lie: “I’m not ready yet”. We can think or talk about something for weeks, months or even years and never do anything about it.
And here’s the thing: spending time thinking or talking about our big plans is really insidious because we can trick ourselves into feeling like we’re actually doing it and get falsely satiated. It’s particularly important for aspiring entrepreneurs who tend to spend endless amount of time collecting more and more evidence that they know or have enough to start pursuing their dreams. It’s very tempting to read one more article or watch one more YouTube video to make sure you know exactly what to do before you take action.
So, what are we going to do with all of that?
Here is the secret that I want share with you: the most successful people in the world never feel ready.
The wannabes believe that they will suddenly feel ready once they have the right set up. They fantasize about what they’ll create when they get right equipment, better office, approval from their mother (you’d be surprised), lucky break, more time, more money, more training, etc. Successful people know that waiting until you “feel ready” is a time-sucking, dream-killing excuse that keeps us stuck in mediocrity.
Now, I am not saying you should neglect preparation. But I am saying that it is vital to be able to distinguish between the actual obstacles and the excuses that your mind is generating to keep you inside the comfort zone, hence away from growth. Hint: 90% of the time the problem exists only in our head. You need to recognize that mental noise for what it is and just do your thing.
Below I’m giving you 5 reasons why you should start before you feel ready.
1. Resistance
Every attempt to get better or stronger, anything that lies outside of our comfort zone, faces resistance. That’s how we, human beings, are wired. When we do challenging work we’re pulled by excitement and pushed by confusion at the same time. We’re bound to feel resistant, uncertain and unqualified.
But let me assure you of this: what you have right now is enough.
You can plan, delay, and revise all you want, but trust me, what you have right here and right now is enough to start.
2. We all start from zero
Talk to anyone at the top of their game – whether athletes, business owners, popular talk show hosts, pop stars or movie stars. Not even once you’ll hear them say that when they were starting they had it all together. Most of the time you’ll hear something like this: “When I got started, I was a mess. I had a pretty vague idea of what I was doing but I just kept working and improving. After a while, everything started to fall into place”.
3. Fear
That’s the real enemy we are dealing with. We come up with all kinds of excuses telling ourselves that the timing is not perfect or there’s no need to rush. Most of the time we are simply scared. And here’s the thing with fear: you don’t wait until you get less scared, it’s actually the other way around. You need to face it and take action in spite of it.
The best way to kick fear in the butt is to do the thing that scares you over and over and over again.
4. Perfectionism
While working with people helping them create their business I noticed a pattern that I’m seeing with a lot of folks, which is this idea that either they or their plans have to be perfect before they can start. The irony is that this moment will never come.
Why?
Because we are all perfectly imperfect. We make mistakes. That means we are alive.
5. Momentum
When you actually get started and turn your emotion into energy, energy into action, action into something meaningful, momentum steps in and lends a hand.
I have a client who is a writer and he wanted to promote his book. I recommended him to start a blog where he would share his ideas and stories so that people can get a grasp of what he’s about. Three weeks later when we met for a consultation again, guess what happened? Nothing! He still didn’t have a blog and still wasn’t writing. So, we had another meeting where we created an action plan, he began writing consistently and gained that momentum. In a few short weeks, he started getting engagement from readers.
When I was starting my own business I felt really self-conscious too. I thought I needed a cool logo, an awesome website, a portfolio, great products or services and so on. For a while, I worked on all of those things while having great ideas for blog posts, videos and things I wanted to share with the world. Soon I realized that I was holding myself back, and what I actually needed to do was to start. So I had to tell myself: “Dude, enough of this BS, ur doing it now”.
Yes, this article might not be perfect. But it’s online, it’s real, you’re reading it and I hope it inspires you to improve your own life.
You have to start. You have to turn your dreams into goals and make them a reality!
XO,
Peter
