Are you having trouble taking that first step? Do you get frustrated at the end of every day because you, yet again, have NOT taken action?
Here’s the answer:
Allow yourself to keep dreaming! Allow yourself to envision what it would be like having accomplished that goal! In your mind, put yourself at the point in time when you have made it…when you have finally reached the goal. Dream about it and enjoy it! Visualize the congratulations that you will receive from others, or finally being able to say to someone, “Yup…did that”. Or maybe the goal is giving money or time or something else to somebody else. Visualize the handing over of that check, or showing up to the event. Visualize the look in their eyes when you do it.
The key is to raise your level of desire ABOVE the level of fear. You do this by continuing to FOCUS on the GOAL, and allowing yourself to dream of achieving it. Every day you do this, you raise your level of desire to accomplish it.
Let’s take a concrete example of a goal to run a marathon. Here’re are your steps:
- Put a marathon on your calendar. No matter how far away you are currently from being able to run a marathon, pick the right time for you (maybe its even next year), and physically write it on your calendar.
- Sign up for that marathon. Find one locally, or even better, make a destination out of it. The destination approach does 2 things: 1) it makes it fun to think of going to whatever location you have chosen, and 2) if you’re family is involved, that brings immediate accountability (you see, that’s sneaky accountability coaching gold right there).
- Find a coach, or a training plan (if you need some help finding a coach, a training plan, or a nutrition plan, please contact me, I can help).
- Regardless of when your training plan says you will start…you will start TOMORROW. Even if its not necessarily doing the activities on the training plan, you will start doing something to get in the mindset of training. So before you go to bed this evening, you will tell yourself that tomorrow is the day. The Slight Edge starts tomorrow.
- When you wake up tomorrow, you will announce that “TODAY is the DAY!”. Make your plan first thing in the morning to start your activity that day, and resigning yourself to go do it.
What happens when you get to the end of tomorrow and you have taken that first step? CELEBRATE! You are on the path, now keep going.
Now, what happens when you get to the end of tomorrow, and you have NOT actually done your activity? This is the key moment, and the moment that defines if you’re on the path to success…KEEP DREAMING! Keep visualizing having run the marathon. Focus on how great it will be once you have crossed that finish line. Then tell yourself that you start TOMORROW and go to bed. Wake up the next day and announce, “TODAY is the DAY!”. Rinse and repeat, and then all of a sudden, BANG, you’ve taken that first step.
OK, that marathon example is easy to see and easy to plan, but let’s get real. Let’s find what you’re goals should REALLY be. You have a unique gift, and unique talent, a unique skill set that you have been put on this earth to use. LET’S FIND IT. This world needs you to find it…you need you to find it…I need you to find it.
Here’s how you do it. Think back to another time to when you weren’t afraid to dream. When you said to yourself, “Someday…” Well, THAT’S what you need to do. That’s the gift that you can give this world. Uncover that dream…dig it up…and start to water it. Do you know why you had that dream a long time ago? Because you can do it…you have it in you! You’re mind knows you can do it. Now get out there and DO IT!
I love to hear from you and hear your own stories and experiences. Please connect with me on any of the social media platforms or leave a comment here.
Have a great day!!
