Just Start

Just Start – The art of starting.

Starting new things often require significant passion and mental energy, which can make starting anything to seem daunting at first. 

For most of us, coming face-to-face with a blank page can quickly become overwhelming, causing what I can best describe as temporary mental paralysis.

It is important to always remember that as humans we LOVE status quo, our COMFORT ZONE. We love things to stay just-the-way-they-are. WE ARE ALL extremely comfortable in our own chaos — it’s known, predictable, and consistent.  It feels like all the universe works against us when we try to disrupt it.

The truth is as humans we are naturally great at recognising what needs changing (whether in diet, business, relationships, or life). What we’re not so great at is implementing the changes necessary to succeed.

There is no doubt that in order to grow and realise your true potential, you’re going to have to expose yourself and your weaknesses to the elements.

If you are still hesitating to get started, this is procrastination. 

“Procrastination is not waiting and it is more than delaying. It is a decision to not act,” psychologist Joseph Ferrari tells the American Psychological Association. 

Professor George Akerlof wrote that procrastination is the perfect example of where there are repeated errors of judgement due to us mistakenly ignoring their costs and benefits:

“In this case, each error of judgment causes a small loss, but these errors cumulatively result in large losses over time and ultimately cause considerable regret on the part of the decision maker.”

Getting started is about understanding and overcoming the obstacles—be they mental, emotional, or physical—that hold us back from diving right in.

That means that anything from impulsivity to self-monitoring, planning, activity shifting, task initiation, task monitoring, emotional control, working memory, or orderliness can keep you from getting started on a task. 

Yes. The hump of ‘just starting’ is so hard to get over. Yet once we do, momentum takes over. 

Here are 6 things you can do to make your start that bit easier.

#1. Building the habit of just starting

So how do we break through all these seemingly insurmountable forces working against us? Simply put, we ignore them all and just start.

#2. Create the right environment to get started

Our environment dictates what we choose to do, as opposed to what we want to do.

If you have choices around you that are distracting or lead to undesirable outcomes, then it becomes hard to make the right choices. 

On the flip side, having an environment that only has desirable choices constricts you to do what’s important for yourself.

For instance:

To get work done, minimize distractions that take away from your focus.

If you want to eat better, put healthier foods and water within close reach.

When you try to persuade someone to perform a task, explain and set it up so that it’s convenient for the person to do so.

The changes we make may seem small initially. For instance, it might not seem like much to move a book you want to read from the shelf to your desk. 

But when you make incremental improvements to your environment, it becomes much easier to do what’s right.

#3. Take a Smart Step toward that desire as quickly as you can 

i.e. act with the means at hand; don’t spend more (in money, time and other resources) than you can afford to and bring others along with you if it makes sense.

#4. Make reality your friend. 

Accept what is and build off what you find.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you accomplish your goal or until you decide it is not possible or you decide you rather do something else.

#5. Don’t worry about being perfect

“perfectionism” as an excuse. “Perfectionists” are just procrastinators in disguise. If you’re worried about what people will think, don’t. I promise they’re focusing too much on their own hopes, dreams and aspirations to scrutinize yours.

#6.Breaking bigger goals into short, actionable items

While there are some common ‘cures’ to procrastinating on work you’ve already started, such as breaking bigger goals into short, actionable items (“I will work on my paper for 1 hour at 11 am on Tuesday” rather than “I’ll work on my paper on Tuesday”), taking scheduled breaks, and rewarding yourself for completing subgoals as well as the full project.

Now is the right time to start

If you’re waiting for the “right time”, you’ll be waiting forever. In fact, if your idea is worth it, you’ll never feel ready. Progress begins at the end of your comfort zone. That’s when it gets meaningful. That’s when things get interesting.

Set up systems and processes in place where the goal isn’t to ‘create perfection’, but just to create.