It’s often the first steps that are the most difficult when taking on big challenges. Have you ever stood before a closet that needed cleaning, but were not sure where to even begin? Or a messy garage? We can let that feeling of being overwhelmed paralyze us.
The solution is to do something. There may not be a perfect place to start, but doing something gets things started. When it comes to health initiatives, we often feel so far from being healthy and fit that we do nothing at all.
There is a Chinese proverb that states, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” It is critical that you take that first step. You have enough information and enough knowledge to make that first step. We often feel so far from where we want to be that the idea of actually achieving our goals doesn’t seem possible.
If you’re worried about making a mistake, and that is what is preventing you from taking action, then just think about what inaction has gotten you. Doing nothing has been a major reason for where you are right now. It is not usually mistakes that have led you to where you are right now, it is often the lack of taking action.
We can get overwhelmed by the idea of a major diet, an advanced workout program, or any significant lifestyle change. The bad news is that these feelings keep us from doing anything at all. The good news is that we don’t need major changes to get the outcomes we are looking for. It is simple, basic steps taken consistently over time that yield the greatest results. These are also the results that last.
It is easy to overwhelm ourselves by looking at the task at hand and amplifying it. We blow it up in our heads, focusing on the bigness of what we have to do. A simple step to counter this would be to chunk it down into smaller, more doable, less intimidating parts. If, for instance, you need to lose sixty pounds, it will be much easier to get started if you stop focusing on the large number of sixty, and instead break it down into six chunks of ten pounds each.
The human mind is so much more likely to get excited and get started when the task is more manageable. And it is so much more likely to get overwhelmed, frustrated, and less likely to even begin when the task seems too big. We can trick our minds into becoming better at starting and completing tasks if we simply break the task down into smaller parts.
Once broken down into smaller chunks, the most important next step is to take action and begin. Your initial action will be what gets your momentum going. It will be the beginning. It will be the starting point that will get you headed in the right direction and moving forward. Any large accomplishment that you have achieved began with the first step. It may have seemed out of reach or unachievable, but the only way you were able to complete it was to start somewhere. Those first steps seemed so small and unlikely to amount to much, but it is those first steps that get the whole thing going.
So, when you are staring at a huge task, whether that is losing weight, getting fit, going back to school for an advanced degree, or recommitting to making your marriage great again, do not let the bigness of the goal paralyze you. Two things will help you achieve your goals. First, chunk the large goal into smaller, more manageable goals. Second, take action of some kind. No matter how simple or miniscule the action step may seem, it will be a step in the right direction. And a step, no matter how small, is still better than standing still.
Ask anyone who has achieved anything worthwhile, especially that which you want to achieve, and they will tell you that the first steps were the most difficult. They will also likely tell you that, while those first steps were the hardest, it was those first steps that gave them the strength, courage, and momentum to continue on and ultimately achieve their biggest goals. Stop staring at the goal and start moving toward accomplishing it.
