When taking on a new challenge in life, whether it be a diet or exercise program or starting a business, start with the easiest tasks. When starting new things, we tend to procrastinate getting started at all because we think of all the hardest things involved in accomplishing our goal. What if instead we just chose the easiest things and did those? No one tries to run a marathon the day they start running. They start with a mile, then two. You have to build a foundation on which to build your desired outcome. The best way to build that platform is with momentum. The best way to build momentum is by starting with what’s easiest.
SMALL, CONSISTENT ACHIEVEMENTS YIELD BIG RESULTS.
When my husband and I first started our business in 2004, the very first thing we did was sit down and come up with some prices for our photography. Next we came up with a name, then a logo because those things sounded fun. We didn’t start with buying all the necessary equipment or designing a website or acquiring the proper insurance. Those things sounded daunting. Though they would need to be done, that’s not where we started.
Starting with tackling the smallest, easiest tasks leads to a sense of accomplishment. That sense of accomplishment is what’s needed to have the desire and drive to keep going. If you start with the most challenging tasks and keep running in to walls right out of the gate, you won’t be inspired to continue. But once you get some small accomplishments under your belt, you’ll have the confidence you need to take it to the next level.
It’s so easy to get overwhelmed when starting a new project or trying to make a big change. And I don’t know about you but feeling overwhelmed cripples me from making progress. So try breaking your goals down in to small, manageable pieces. Stop looking at the big picture and look at the pieces. What pieces look easy or fun?
When I began training for a marathon, I didn’t even start with running a mile. I started with walking a mile. That was the easiest way for me to get started. Eventually I ran 26.2 miles.
