The Only Four Steps You Need: Start Something New
I hate the cold with a passion.
I hate shivering in the short walk from my doorstep to my car. I hate wearing 15 layers of clothes just to make sure my bones don’t freeze. I hate how the tip of my nose feels like a full-blown ice cube when cold air hits me in the face.
But I love walks.
And even in the wintertime on the coldest days, I throw on a heavy coat, earmuffs, hat, doubled-socks, and snowboots, to enjoy a brisk walk.
I know how freakin’ cold it is out there.
So why do I do it?
I know how good my body feels after a long walk. I know how peaceful my mind feels after enjoying nature. I know how more productive I am when I give myself the mental space to daydream outside.
So, even though I’m a little terrified of leaving my perfectly heated home to subject myself to the cold, that feeling of fear only lasts for a short while.
The second I step on the outside of the door, I’m already outside. My body has already felt the cold. And the only thing left for me to do is keep going.
That is the key to doing anything.
Making a commitment to start, even if we’re afraid of what’s to come on the other side of our journey.
One google search on “how to start” and you’ll see that people have searched everything under the sun from “how to start a blog” to “how to start a hard conversation”
In my opinion, starting (anything) comes down to three things:
Preparing.
Taking that first step.
Continuing until you reach the finish line.
I know what you’re thinking…
You can’t be serious?! That’s it?
Yes, that’s it.
Similar to taking that first step outside on a brisk morning, your goals are unknown (and a little freakin’ scary if you’re really honest).
But once you’ve taken even one step outside of your normal routine, you’re already building your learnings, your momentum, your ability to challenge yourself.
Why is starting Something new difficult?
It isn’t easy to start new things all willy-nilly. Yes, we have ideas, but pursuing those ideas means that you must agree to a few things:
You will likely be mediocre at first.
It’s expected that you will not be perfect the first time you try something. Take a look at any famous YouTuber’s first video posted and their latest video and just take note of the difference.
It takes time to hone your craft, to learn the best tools to use, to find your tone, style, and approach, and to find your niche.
You will encounter many challenges that you’ll have to figure out.
There will undoubtedly be new ideas, tools, strategies, or techniques that you’ll have to learn on your way to accomplishing your new goal.
Some new things will be easy. Others will make you want to throw your computer at a wall. You will have to figure out both.
You’ll leave behind the comfort of what you already know.
Imagine you’ve decided to build a new website. That means you must take time away from something that you’re doing today to pursue that new goal.
What will you take that time from? Will it be Netflix? A different hobby you’re currently pursuing? Family time?
No matter what you choose you will be trading the familiar for the unknown. That will add an unknown level of discomfort to your life.
Why must you start new things anyway?
I’ll be honest, this doesn’t sound very exciting. So why do we go out of our way to discomfort ourselves?
Most of the time, it’s a tiny voice inside of you that nags at you to do something differently. You have a feeling that you want your life to look different tomorrow than it does today.
You have a desire to create something new because a part of you believes it will change your life in some way. Maybe you’ll add more joy to your life. Maybe you’ll create more community. Maybe you don’t love your life as it exists today and you want to create a life you love.
And you don’t want to wake up a decade from now wondering… “what if?”
Growth, evolving your life over time to suit your needs, requires that you do new things.
How To Start Something New
Prepare your mindset
Before you dive into the “doing” of new things, you must mentally accept your fate.
Accept that you are diving into new territory where you will not have all the answers, you will not always feel confident in your abilities, you will have to make mistakes (many of them) and you will likely be mediocre at first.
However…
You are ready for the challenge. You will figure out every single roadblock that arises. You are capable of doing hard things.
Create a list of action items
There are a few steps you know you’ll need to take to reach your goals. Make a list of those broad steps. This will give you a roadmap or general direction so you don’t veer too far off track.
However, do not spend too much time researching each step or figuring out all the tools you’ll need down the line. Too much research can slow you down and in some cases, it can keep you from starting altogether.
Take the first step
No matter what you’d like to do in life, you must take steps toward accomplishing it if you want to reach the finish line.
Instead of mulling over what tools you’ll use at step 10, begin step 1 without worrying about what’s next.
This is how you build enough momentum to overcome obstacles that will come down the line.
Find a mentor/community or course
There is one way to shorten your learning curve and to increase your level of commitment to the journey: finding a mentor, community, or course that will guide and support you through this journey.
If you simply start on your own, then you have to find the roadblocks, you have to research each tool or tactic, you have to do it all.
When you have a mentor, course, or community to go to, you’ll have some (or most) of the gaps covered so you can make faster progress without having to learn from many of the mistakes that others suffer from.
Steps you can take today:
Understand that you will not know every step until you’ve done every step.
Find the information you need to make the first step with caution.
Take the first steps and learn from them.
Often, we have a desire to take calculated steps to have confidence in the things that we do. Confidence, however, comes from experience. Doing something new requires we dive into uncharted territory. Whether it’s creating your first book, live show, online community, course, or singing on stage for the first time… it’s likely you won’t have confidence in yourself the first time around…
… but you can always build it. :)
If you have a desire on your heart it’s your duty to simply start. You’ll make mistakes, you’ll learn from them and you’ll grow.
What’s a project you want to start this year?
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