How to Start When Starting is Hard
47 Weeks. According to Instagram, that’s how long this project took. The picture you see above is from my newly renovated office. When I went to post the final pictures Saturday morning, I realized that it had been 47 weeks since it began. After seeing the final product, knowing how long it took, and taking my own personality into account, there are a couple things I know for certain:
If I knew it was going to take this long, I would have never started.
I never dreamed it would come out this good.
It is easy when you are at the end of something, to forget how it all began. It is quite perfect then that I find myself, in the same weekend, finishing one project and starting another - my weekly newsletter. Even more perfect still that the theme of the newsletter is starting every week fresh. So let us begin, then, with a lesson on how to start.
As a Change Management Specialist, I have learned a lot about what ingredients make it easy for someone to change what they are doing and start something new. While there are a lot of factors at play the most talked about influencer is the most important: individuals need to be inspired by the vision. If we hear a clear message from our leaders and understand where we are going and why we are going there, that can be enough to light a fire under us. It is the same in our personal lives. If we can really envision the future we want, that can be enough to inspire us to go after it.
Is there something you have been hoping to do? Think for a minute about what the day will look like when it's done. Think about how you will feel when you get there. Think about what you will do to celebrate. When you know exactly what you want - new job, promotion, a number on a scale or some other specific achievement - fully envisioning it can be enough to motivate you. There is a reason why vision boards are successful and it's not because you are somehow willing your future into existence (at least I don't believe that to be true). They work because of the motivation that comes when you have a clear understanding of where you want to go and reminders of why you want to go there.
But what happens when you don’t really know what that future looks like? You've got your vision board out and you're ready to cut your magazines, but you're drawing a blank. Maybe you know you have to quit your job but you have no idea where you're going next. Or you want to start your own business but you’re not sure what to focus on. Or that novel is just lingering on the surface but you can't pick a genre. For times like that, we need to get around people who want to start too. We need accountability.
If the office had been left up to me it would still be baby blue and my least favorite room in the house. I didn't know what color walls I wanted. I hadn't yet decided if we were going to do crown molding. I hadn't picked out furniture yet, was clueless on wall décor, and I had no idea what we were going to do about the super weird mini closet. For me, the ending was very murky and so I kept pushing off the beginning.
I kept pushing it off until one day when I willed myself to be super disciplined and just did it! …..Nope. Not even close. You know what finally got me to start? My husband took out a crow bar and started tearing down the wall.
For this particular project, I did a lot of the work, but I can take zero credit for the beginning. And you know what, I'm okay with that. A big mistake we make in our careers and our personal goals is thinking that everything has to come down to our own determination. Most of the time, we need some help along the way and there's no shame in that.
Think about 47 weeks from now. Think about something you want to be able to look back on. Something that will put a smile on your face and make you think, yessss, I am so glad I started. Now hold on to that vision tightly, and let it propel you forward. If the details are a little foggy, then go out and find a friend who will be your crowbar. Once the walls are down, you'll figure it out. Just don't let the fear of the unknown-ending keep you from the beginning. Even you don't know how good it might be.
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