I just wrote this up for my wife’s website, ExcitedToBoMe.com. I thought it would be fitting to go here too.
The world wants people who are going somewhere, doing things, and making decisions. What are you waiting for? Pick a goal! It doesn’t have to be something big or hard or impressive. Just pick something.
Need some help getting started? Here’s what you do.
- Grab a pencil and paper.
- Make a list of things you want to do, wish you could do, or have seen others do.
- Hold your pencil in the air.
- Close your eyes.
- Put the pencil on the paper.
- Circle the item that your pencil landed on.
CONGRATULATIONS! You just picked a goal!
It’s that easy. How many times have you not done something because you didn’t know how or where to start. Do the six steps above and you have gotten farther than most people have. A goal not written is merely a wish.
Still not enough? Here’s the next step.
Write down what it will look like, feel like, smell like when you achieve that goal. Who would you tell? How would you celebrate? Be as detailed as you want. Then, write down what it would look, feel, smell, sound like to be half way there. Where would you be? What would you have already accomplished? What do you have left to accomplish?
Rinse and repeat until you have a list of steps that are small enough for you to see yourself actually doing them. Make those next steps small enough that it seems trivial to complete them and illogical not to complete them. Then, do them. Plan them into your day. Put a date next to them. Hang them on your wall. Put them into your phone. Do whatever it takes to not forget about them. Memorize them, turn them into a song. Just get them into your brain!
Now that you know what to do… DO IT! Keep track of what you’ve done so you can see how for you’ve come. When those sneaky thoughts try to tell you to stop or that you’re not good enough, don’t listen to them. Grab the remote and turn them off. You’ll thank yourself later. Try the Jerry Seinfeld method of tracking; mark off each day you worked on your list and DON’T BREAK THE CHAIN! It works, and may be just what you need to keep going.
Now, here’s the hard part. Tell other people what you are doing. There are lots of reasons not to do this, but they all stink. The act of telling people your goal helps solidify that goal in your mind. It makes it real. You hear yourself saying it and you really start to believe it. Or it drives you crazy and you quit. It’s up to you. You decide how awesome you will be. Not the person on the other side of a screen, who doesn’t see the excitement in your eyes or hear the energy in your voice when you talk about your goal. This is your dream after all, not there’s. So why should they get to decide how you feel about it.
Oh, and don’t forget. Finished is better than started.