Sometimes I ask my clients ‘what will it take for you to act on your idea or vision right now?’ Very often they will respond, ‘Gee, I would love to but…’ and finish with one of a litany of reasons why they need to wait. I have heard everything (and said some of these myself): ‘I need to finish my plan’, ‘I don’t have enough money’, ‘I am too busy’, ‘I am scared’ (the most honest of all the answers), and the catch-all ‘I don’t know what I want to do.’ All of these excuses (yes, they are excuses) seem highly justified at the time but they are, in reality, simply ways of avoiding our own fears.
When we take action toward our dreams we intuitively know that our life will change, and this generates fear. We are familiar with our life as it is today, and although we may not like it, we at least are comfortable with this reality. Taking action puts at risk all that we have become accustomed to, and so we avoid doing even those things we know will make us happy and successful.
The only way to move past this fear is to confront it. Look around you right now. What have you been avoiding that you KNOW would help you move forward? What small action can you take in that direction? What could you do RIGHT NOW to start this process? It may be sending an email or calling someone, or perhaps just writing one sentence of that book. Or maybe sketching a list of things that you know you want out of your life. My point is that there are many small things you can do right now to jar you out of your stasis.
If you want to achieve and move toward anything, there is a first step, then a second, and a third. All you need to do is choose to act RIGHT NOW toward your dreams. Then in every moment simply ask yourself again, what can I do NOW? And NOW? And NOW? Your small steps begin to add up until voila, you find yourself at your destination. Success is not an event…it is a process. Like drops of water wearing away a stone, so can you achieve anything if you take simple, moment by moment steps. Try this! Start NOW on something you desire…and watch what happens!
