I just listened to my first online training session with Brendan Burchard and the topic was starting the process of an online business. I laughed nearly the whole way through it as he nailed it – the excuses, the fears, the uncertainty, the stalling, and the lack of focus! So I got creative and thought heck why not write my first blog on getting started?
Taking action is the only way to move forward right? Intellectually we all know the things we need to do to get what we want or we have some idea that we need to do SOMETHING! But we stall at the efforts or the lack of knowledge around exactly what to do – what I noticed in my talks with clients, colleagues and friends is that usually we have outrageous expectations of those first steps!
Tony Robbins has a wonderful analogy of the baby learning to walk and I use that to demonstrate how little we appreciate the first steps to walking. Pause now and ask yourself what is the first step towards a baby walking...Don’t read a head LOL be honest what do you think is the first step?
The first step is turning their head! Yes in order to get up from your back you need to turn your head and roll over and that’s before you have even thought about the arms and legs moving!! So the message is simple – the first step is very unlikely to look anything like the final step or completed action right?
Think about something you do daily that you don’t think about – driving is another great example – then think about the first step in that process…
The key is to relate it to something you currently are very capable of doing in order to then think about how something new might need to be framed in terms of starting steps.
The issue I have with getting started and just telling people to do it is everyone has a different starting point – individualized programmes are the very nature of my profession – backed by scientific principles based on best practice and evidence. So how do we do this when we don’t have an individualized programme and someone is telling you get going?
You find your threshold – where are you currently sitting, what’s the edge of comfort for you?
An example would be if you wanted to train for a 10 k run and just couldn’t get going or commit or decide even if you wanted to do it seriously!
Answer the following questions:
Are you going to the gym?
Are you running now?
Are you walking?
If the answer is no to the above fitness questions – your starting point is going to be very different to if the answer is yes to all three fitness questions.
Next ask yourself these 2 pivotal questions:
What’s you short term vision for your life – what do you want to achieve in the next 6 months to a year?
Why is this target/vision important to you? (Dig deep here!)
This vision will be the initial source of “motivation”
Here’s a framework of possible goals or objectives or outcomes for you to consider – see if it works for you or create your own – what is it you need to start today? Chose the smallest initial step that’s achievable and right for you! The key is to be able to feel good now so those first few steps have to be achievable now!
Have fun!
