Embarking on a journey of change, growth, and general improvement is commendable. Even just wanting to be better is significant! But it’s not enough and you must make sure you start right. And by that, I mean you need to start now.
A lot of us have one day said: “I’ll start on Monday, after my holidays”, “From tomorrow, I’ll change the way I do things”, or “It’s just not the right moment, but after this big thing, I’ll start”.
The moment life begins to change in a big way, is when you let go of this “right moment” mentality.
But where do you begin? Do you need a plan of action before you can work towards growth? What do you start with?
Well, no… I don’t believe you need a plan… YET! Deep down, we all know the basics of what is good (and bad) for us and what we need to do to improve ourselves and our lives as well as the lives of others.
For example, you know that a cluttered and untidy environment isn’t doing any good to your mental health. It’s something that you simply know. That you feel. So why not start cleaning? As for your physical health, you know that exercising is important for your wellbeing. If it’s not something you already actively do, then deep down, you know you should. So why not go for a quick run right now?
Plans and goals can come a little later on your journey of self-improvement. For now, listen to your gut and act on that feeling of “What needs to be done, that can be done now?”.
What will you start with?
There is no “right moment”, and there never will be, so you mustn’t wait for it.
If you postpone, then you’re simply making an excuse for not starting. To you, it becomes acceptable. It sets the bar too low, and you keep finding and making excuses again and again. It becomes a habit and a form of procrastination.
Don’t wait for the “right moment”. Better to take imperfect action now than to wait for perfect conditions. Start small!
There is a great page from Ryan Holiday’s book ‘The Daily Stoïc’ (which I highly recommend). For its 31st of December entry, it quotes the Emperor Marcus Aurelius: “Stop wandering about! […] Get busy with life’s purpose, toss aside empty hopes, get active in your own rescue – if you care for yourself at all – and do it while you can.” To that, the author adds that “at some point, we must put our books aside and take action”. If you want change, if you want better, then make it happen. Don’t wait.
But “What if it’s late in the evening?” I hear you say.
Tough. You want change? You want to do better? Be better? It starts now. If you’re reading this, you likely have time on your hands right now. Get moving, and you’ll wake up tomorrow ready for action because you’ll already have started the night before.
But “What if external factors really don’t allow me to do what I need to do”.
If, for example, a storm doesn’t allow you to go for a run, if current plumbing problems don’t allow to wash last night’s dishes, or if you suffer from a bad health condition: fair enough. However, I believe there is always some other task that can be done. Some other action you can take to make things better for yourself.
Look in that moment for what you can do that will have a positive impact on you, then set out to do it by starting immediately.
When you start now, without waiting for the right moment, that’s when things really change once and for all. You leave the procrastination mentality at the door. You let go of it, and there will be no turning back.
Just be aware that change will happen, but overnight success won’t. As the saying by Robert Collier goes: “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out”.
You just need to start, and whatever happens, you can handle it.
