We all are striving to become better. We all have our own set of goals, visions, plans and dreams. But where we all get stuck is at the crossroad of how to get started things.
The visions we have set for ourselves seem so big that we feel we are not worthy of them. We start to doubt ourselves. Even if we convince ourselves that we can do it when it comes time to take action, we again feel stuck because we don’t know where to start, or shall we say we don’t feel we are perfect or significant enough to begin this work.
But the point is you don’t have to be great to start. You have to start to be great.
Steve Jobs didn’t have all things planned out before he co-founded Apple company. We have to accept that not all things can be planned to their perfection. In fact, nothing can be planned to perfection. On many occasions, it’s a combination of taking one step at a time while thinking two steps ahead.
In one of the weekly Newsletters of James Clear, he says, “School requires you to learn about things after the answer has already been decided. Life requires you to learn about things while the answer is in the process of being added.”
Life tells us to take one step at a time, take actions one day, and believe in the process and the answer will slowly start to emerge as our actions become consistent.
There will be no shortcuts. The most critical thing we all need to achieve our goals is how much we are willing to take action and how much we are eager to give our undivided attention to the work at hand. There are no secret formulas.
Michael Angelo says, “If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, then it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”
We all need to adopt the mindset that we need to take small and consistent steps of actions that help us get a little closer to our dreams. Along with being willing to do the hard work, we need some other qualities or reminders as we move along the path of fulfilling our goals.
Patience
We all need to have some level of patience. Life is much larger than we think. It cannot be confined to some set of rules. Sometimes the thing that was required and acceptable at one point may not be relevant or suitable at another time. But, we need to keep ourselves patient while we work towards our dream. The results come far later. In the beginning, it’s all about laying the foundation to build the dream, and a good foundation takes time to make.
Planning
We will take one step at a time while ensuring that the path ahead is a little transparent. There has to be some planning involved always. However, anything done to excess is a vice. Taking a line from James Clear, “Planning and preparation are useful until they become a form of procrastination.” He further adds, “Is this task enhancing my actions or substituting for them?”
It is nice to plan the details but don’t let get lost in perfecting the details because, at the end of the day, it is all about what do you have to show for the efforts.
Consistency
If a person keeps hammering a rock and it breaks when the person beats the rock the 100th time, then is it wise to say that the 99 times he hit the rock before were useless? The answer is No. The 99 times he hammered the stone before the 100th were just as vital as the 100th one. It is just that when the rock was hammered, the 100th one became so powerful only on the base of the previous 99 times. The last strike hit the breaking point and the whole effort came to fruition, but the 99 hammers before it led to its completion. Similarly, in life, we also need to take consistent actions. Whether small or big, every effort directed to our goals takes us one step closer to our goals.
Honesty
It is a must to at least be honest with oneself.
Sadhguru says, “The more sincere you are with yourself, the clearer you will see things.”
We all fall into the trap of lying to ourselves when we are blamed or make a mistake. Life is a game to improve constantly with transparency, simplicity and honesty. Only someone honest with himself will try to improve oneself. Be open to change, be brave to accept that ‘you could be wrong’ and correct that mistake.
Gratitude
And maybe the most important thing is to be thankful for the opportunities you get. Be grateful to the higher energy that is providing you the power.
Believe in the Higher Energy that it has a plan for you. Expect the best instead of the worst. The reason is that being freed from self-doubt, you can put your whole self into your endeavor.
Nothing can stand in the way of a person who focuses his entire self on a problem.