Goals - Simply Start

It doesn’t matter when we start.

It doesn’t matter where we start.

All that matters is that we start.

-Simon Sinek

I put things off, I procrastinate, I say “I’ll do it tomorrow”, I think to myself I’ll be better at this or that tomorrow, next week, next year. Everyone does, I know I’m not alone in this, otherwise we’d have a world of overachieving perfectionists. 

In certain areas, areas we deem more important or areas we are more comfortable with, we make it happen today, now, this week, this year. In other areas we fear starting, we fear being vulnerable in failing, we put it off, we don’t start, we often avoid it all together although we know it’s important. 

So what is IT? Is it exercise, is it money management, is it budgeting, is it telling someone you love them, is it getting healthier, is it a dream of yours, is it learning the guitar, is it quitting a bad habit, is it starting a good habit, is it making a lifelong memory with someone, is it helping those less fortunate? We all have it, one or more things we’re putting off in life. We keep saying tomorrow, next week, next year, or we find a reason to make it less important. 

I’ve had an acoustic guitar in my home for many years, great intentions of one day learning how to play but never finding that tomorrow, next month, next year. I have stacks of books around my house, great intentions of lessons learned from great minds. I don’t often find the time for this, or I put certain books into next month or next year which never comes. I’ve always carried a love of writing, dreams of one day writing a book but never actually find that day to start or the excuse of not knowing what to write about. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to start a business but put it off for the perfect idea, the perfect timing, next year or is it the fear of risk and failure within the uncertainty. 

I could go on and on about things I’ve dreamed of accomplishing, I know we all can. How I approach it is to prioritize my time, really prioritize my efforts into those items that will make me a better man, better husband, better father, better human, a more well-rounded individual. What way can I spend my minutes in life leaving the best legacy I can, I can do better in this as we can all do better. There is always room for growth, improvement, and a better version of you.

For the marathon, there were a couple of these things I’d been putting off for some time. 

Running a marathon was one of them, I just never thought it would be possible. I talked myself out of it, likely for fear of vulnerability and failure. What if I signed up and couldn’t do it, what if I made a fool of myself, what if I raised funds and let people down. Those are the subconscious reasons I likely held myself back for all these years or maybe it just wasn’t the right time. All I needed to do was commit and start. I simply needed to start.

Pushing myself further outside a fitness comfort zone was another item I’d been putting off. I had my routines and stuck with what was comfortable for me; short runs, sprints on a football field, stairs, push-ups, body weight exercises. Never had I even tried running longer distances, as I always deemed myself a short distance guy. I’ve even been as naive as to state, “tall guys are not built for distance running.” I was lying to myself and finding a reason to make that thing outside my reach. All I needed to do was start.

All you have to do is start. What is your thing or things? When are you going to start? If your answer is after Christmas, the new year, or next week, then you’re missing the message and should re-read this blog post.

Go get it started and make your dreams into reality. Start it now, for tomorrow may never be the right moment.

DadBud