Just START

Pick up the pen, dial the phone, lace up your shoes. Just do it.

It’s not uncommon to face trepidation when beginning something new. It can be overwhelming and at times, paralyzing. That’s why there’s a huge market for motivational speakers and life coaches encouraging people to just get started.

The problem is that you’re often told to just do the first thing – and then the next. So, you start thinking about what’s next. And next. And next after that until you find yourself staring down an entire marathon you haven’t even registered for. So, you don’t end up starting at all.

Stop obsessing about the end goal. You’ve already determined it was important (your WHY). Don’t focus on what you think you can’t do or be concerned with all that can go wrong. Don’t concern yourself with all that can go right, either.

Just do the first thing and see what happens.

6 months before I ran the Boston Marathon, I couldn’t run two miles. Just start.

When the alarm goes off, put your feet on the floor. There, you woke up early to run.

Put your clothes on and begin your warmup. Don’t know how? Google one. There, you woke up early and trained.

Lace up your shoes and you woke up early to run.

Head out the door and you went out for a run.

Run easy for 1 minute, walk for 2. Do this 10 times. There, you went running.

Do this for a few days. You get up early to run.

Do this for a few weeks. You are a runner.

Just start.

Sometimes we do get overwhelmed. Tired. Depressed. Discouraged and incapacitated, waiting for someone to rescue you.

If you’re stuck down a dark hole, the way out isn’t going to suddenly present itself. You have to go looking for it.

Back when I was in outside sales, if I found myself down, doubtful, and beginning to drive in circles, I’d pull over and indiscriminately knock on the very next door. Action conquers doubt. Action is commitment. Action leads to progress. Action achieves transformation.

The two most important steps you take each day are your feet on the floor when the alarm goes off.

Depending on your endeavor, it’s possible, if not likely, you will face failure. I don’t like the expression, “You’ll never know unless you try.”. That’s not true. You DO know. You WILL fail if you don’t try. Why is certainty of failure so much more appealing than the possibility of success? Just start and see what happens.

Stop thinking about it. Planning it. Praying on it. Meditating on it (Well, keep doing all those things). Pick up the pen, dial the phone, lace up the shoes.

Just Start