“All glory comes from daring to begin.”~Eugene F. Ware
Sometimes starting is simply the hardest part. There’s a project you need to tackle, an article (or book) you want to write, a number of phone calls you need to make, a relationship you want to build…but all you can do is sit at your desk, not starting. The task seems too daunting and a million other urgent issues or immediate tasks at hand seem to appear, as if out of nowhere. So you never begin, and you therefore never finish.
Sometimes starting is simply the hardest part. That’s why the glory is often in the first step, in the daring to begin. When you push away distractions and start to write your novel; when you carve out time to plan out your project and do what needs to be done; when you launch into the tough conversation with your boss (or colleague, or loved one); when you start exercising or begin your diet or make time for meditation and self-reflection – whatever self-care promise you’ve made to yourself – you’ve embarked upon the hardest part. All of these first steps are getting you closer to accomplishing your goals, and they need to be celebrated.
We often wait until the final objective has been reached before we acknowledge any success, or before we enjoy any glory. But if getting started is so difficult, a strong first step deserves to be recognized and rewarded. And this will most likely fuel us further to get to where we want to go.
So go ahead and start. Think of the task that seems too daunting, or the conversation that’s frightening but important, or the goal that you truly want to achieve and chunk out a first step, commit to someone you’ll do it…and do it. Find something manageable that you can actually get done and make the first phone call, write the first page, schedule the time for the meeting – whatever it is that will get you started. Then celebrate that first step and map out (and take) your next…and your next…and your next. You’ve dared to begin, and now you can keep going.
Choose the goal that you truly want to go after, and simply begin. Take your first step and feel the glory.
Where have you been hesitating and procrastinating? How can you take the first step and simply dare to begin?
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If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
If you want help in beginning, contact Robyn at rmcleod@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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