YOU’LL READ A LOT in this issue about all the reasons the time to start that thing you’ve been putting off is now… The Big Story — Get Uncomfortable — on page 26, much of the Tip Sheet on page 36, and John Marvin’s column — Climbing Mountains — on page 43, all touch on this topic.
The gist: Face your fears! Clear the obstacles! Set yourself up for success! And then — to borrow a famous phrase — “Just do it!” It’s all sound advice and timely, given there really is no better time than the start of a fresh year to recommit to tackling a big project or goal you’ve been procrastinating on.
But I would like to offer a slightly different perspective.
It is possible that the “big, scary thing” you’ve been putting off isn’t actually all that scary. Maybe you’ve just built it up to such extremes in your head it now seems nearly insurmountable? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked myself up over how hard … time-consuming … emotionally draining … impossible(!) a task is going to be only for it … to not be when I finally got it done. It’s never that bad. It is always worse in my head.
We are creatures of habit. Habits are comfortable. And change is scary. But inevitably nine times out of 10 the change works out. Maybe not exactly how we imagined, and maybe not immediately, but rarely is it as catastrophic as we dreaded and more often than not it’s even better than we imagined. (Those are all anecdotal figures by the way, don’t cite me.)
My point is: Stop thinking about all the reasons you could fail and start pursuing all the ways you will succeed. Remember, most of what you’ve set out to accomplish you’ve accomplished! And when you’ve failed, you’ve learned and either tried again even better equipped or been gifted clarity on a more suitable alternative.
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The scary isn’t in the doing. It’s in the thinking about doing. So when you start to
psych yourself out try to remember how much easier most things are to do than you think they will be… and then just do it.
Best wishes for your business,
