Starting out and Achieving our goals always start with the First Step

Achieving goals by this one great step

Way No.1: 90% Planning and the Rest is execution

It said that a lot of people have really great ideas and plans, but lack of action is what stops them from moving ahead. It's not still the end of the year, so there is always a chance for a new beginning. We must use this as an opportunity to start on our plans. As an IT student, I had learned that success to most projects is 90% planning and the rest is execution. But many of us are just stuck in the first phase and seldom thinking of moving to the next.

(Read here, how I started out blogging, Click Here) Blogging was something that I always wanted to do and now doing it is, of course, a learning experience and a journey by itself. I think more than writing skills, it is being vulnerable that can stop us. A small step to open ourselves to others can take us a long way.

Way No.2: Failing is okay

What is keeping us back? I am sure there are many good reasons. But I think one of them could be the fear of failing and looking bad. Failing is okay, but not trying to work on your goals can be a source of major regret. I once heard this from a motivational speaker and this idea really caught my imagination. He said that imagine you are on your death bed and you start thinking of all the things you could have done to achieve those goals and dreams. 

Imagine all the possibilities of how things could have been. Imagine all those possibilities haunting you and crying to you for concretizing or work on them. Now think that you are going to die with all these regrets someday. (Chriseducator.com)

Is it all worth it or is it worth it to work on those goals or dreams you aspire. I think one must sit down and think about it.

Way no.3: Determined Action

Powerful Quote from Tony Robbins

I would like to leave you with this quote from Tony Robbins. He is a great motivational speaker and he has changed many peoples lives. This is what he has to say about being successful.

Tony Robbins: Take Action

Concluding thoughts:

First steps are difficult and so is the beginning of any new project. But with proper planning and deliberation, we can find our way ahead. Our focus should be on excellence and not just perfection. A right attitude can be a real game-changer.

I think this mantra sums it all up for us.

"Audacious Goals + Massive ( Determined ) Action"

Further Reading:

The Overthinker’s Guide for Taking Action: A Complete Guide
https://startupbros.com/overthinkers-guide-taking-action-complete-guide/

How to Take Action: 12 Habits that Turn Dreams into Reality
https://www.positivityblog.com/how-to-take-action/

Why Is It Important To Take Action?
https://www.seeken.org/important-take-action/

Taking action is one of the Keys to an Impactful Life

Beginners Guide to Taking Action

Have you ever stubbed your own toe? Recently, A student while in Class did exactly that. He moved his office chair over his own feet. Gosh! That was so painful. He immediately tried to ease the pain. 

Not working on our Personal Projects and dream should feel the same, Like stubbing our own toe. Taking action for some projects should be immediate and with intent. Just like my student was hurt, we too must feel the pain of not doing what we are meant to do.

The pain of our dreams not becoming a reality. Pain can force us to get to work. 

Most of us have awesome dreams, worthy goals and reasonable projects. Why don't we take action? What is stopping us?

The answer is quite obvious to each of us. We must sometimes stop and reflect. Then we may have the answers.

Achieving the important goals of Life

Take action and dominate your life

I always thought sharing ideas with people was something to avoid. But now I realise that ideas are in plenty.

Executing the ideas and putting them into action is what matters. When we execute ideas, we make plans.

Some of these plans take us ahead and succeed, while others teach us lessons. the problem is that people rarely think of executing ideas.

On my own personal journey, it took me quite a while to start working on my idea of starting this blog.

After a lot of prodding and pushing from people I got to work. It's been an exciting journey. It has taught me a lot.

Let me ask you a question, What stops you from starting out? Are you looking for all the resources? Do you want to begin when situations are perfect? Is it reasonable to think like this?

These are questions we need to ponder upon. But think about it, Not working on a good idea is to kill it before it bears fruit. Nothing wrong or right about it, But only potentially missed opportunities.

Inaction is also a decision in itself. Think about good ideas, plan them and shoot them down when needed. May the best idea become a reality!

Essential Steps to taking Actions now

1) Start the day on the right note

Blaming others may be right in certain circumstances, but in all situations, you are responsible for your actions.

Learn to take control of the choices you make whether by action or inaction. Inaction is also a choice.

Bringing clarity to the purpose behind your actions can come by tying it to some goal you want to achieve.

I have noticed it with a lot of people, they start out in a big way and when they face difficulties they just give up. I noticed the same in myself too.

Starting out small is not bad, you get to test out and sample your big project. You can begin by introducing new habits each week. It can be really transformative.

If you lapsed into an old routine, it's no problem ...Start a new habit and continue once more.

It's an act not to deal with situations. You may say, Chris, There are some things difficult to deal with. Yes, there are difficult problems, but there is nothing stopping you from trying out new and various solutions.

Give various ideas a Test drive, you could do them as a thought experiment or just dedicate a few hours to try something with potential life-changing power. 

I think the modern term would be accountability partners. It does not need to be a group of people. But it depends on the scale of your project.

Be accountable to your goals and future self along with your band of supporters.

Guess what is the one fact about Science and Social Studies that motivates me. The fact that as humans our strength lies in problem-solving.

We dealt with nature by mastering what we learnt from it. We dreamed of achieving happiness and personal contentment by working on goals and our dreams.

We are problem solvers and it is a fact. We can be a bad or good problem solvers, we are problem solvers nonetheless.

I will not lie to you and tell you that people's opinions won't affect you. It may, but the choice is yours. I don't see how it makes a difference.

You pay your taxes and deal with your own problems. Limiting people's bad influence in life is okay.

If we become people-pleasers, when do we don't please ourselves and we sacrifice our lives for someone else's opinions.  What are the payoffs and even if you think there are some payoffs maybe they only are in your own head?

Is it worth sacrificing your goals on the altar of someone's opinion?

Why shouldn't it be Fun? Just because the journey can be difficult. It does not mean it should not be fun.

Try adding some fun to the process. Read and Research ways to improve the process of achieving your goals.

Plan it out and schedule fun activities. So for example, if you are Dieting. How can you add activities or events that can add fun to the process of dieting? If you are blogging what are the fun elements in blogging.

You don't need to make it a task of martyrdom although it does involve some self-sacrifice. Don't kill all the fun from the process.

Expressing joy and exhilaration in achieving something is Human. Celebrating can border on chest-thumping which may be good but it may rob you of your power and will to continue on the journey.

It may fool you into thinking that you arrived and it may rob you of the enthusiasm to continue. You deserve to achieve your goals and not an illusion of it.

In Conclusion

I think we all deserve to achieve all the good and lovely dreams we have. Except for a few people who don't deserve their dreams to become a reality (Anti Social Elements).

As Humans, we all have dreams and goals we want to achieve. We plan and that is good, But adding some action to it can be explosive.

It may get your success or the much-needed feedback to improve. Claim your dreams and work on them.

I hope this blog was able to get you working on your goals. See you in the next post, Share and Comment on something about your dreams in the comment section.

Further Reading

All of this “every person can be extraordinary and achieve greatness” stuff is basically just jerking off your ego. It’s shit sold to you to make you feel good for a few minutes

- Mark Manson, Being Average [Blog post]

The way you see things - your attitude - is the most important factor in your success.
- Zig Ziglar

I have seen it both in myself, this is not an exercise in self-deprecation. I am just wanting to be honest. Don't think I got it all going perfect.

As a former member of a pseudo-cult, I see the harmful effects of disinformation.

I think an under or over appreciation of self are both barriers. I think it prevents us from the opportunity to deal with issues whilst learning how to improve our situations and ourselves.

If we need to improve and have a better life, we need to understand ourselves first. Maybe what is keeping us back from taking action is because we don't have a healthy view of ourselves.

Stop, think and reflect on yourself. Keep a journal to learn more about how you think.

Give yourself a chance and act on your goals. You will learn a lot about your goals and yourself too.

Never begin the day until it is finished on paper

- Jim Rohn

As a former IT professional, One thing I can tell you with confidence. Planning is really powerful, But don't get lost in your plans.

When one plan does not work, an opportunity to learn and set another plan in motion.

Planning gives structure to your time and purpose. Sometimes what keeps us back is we don't know where and why to begin.

Planning takes care of the part of 'What needs to be done?' You can review your day and see how productive you have been.

Review your day against the plan you made for it. You can see how productive you have been and what are activities did not bear fruit.

In the scenario that you are able to live the day by your plan; you get to review what activities will be more beneficial and profitable. 

Create great moments and days by planning well.

Extreme fear can neither fight nor fly.

- William Shakespeare

New Direction, new beginnings can have an element of the unknown. We may not know what lies ahead or how we may look in front of people.

This can bring a measure of fear. This feeling may stifle your action or the desire to act.

This can be a painful situation to be in. Take action, Yes it does not have the guarantee of success. But a chance in succeeding is better than no chance at all.

If the Plan is worthy and good to you and won't affect anybody else. It could be a place to consider planning and thought before acting on it.

Overthinking is also not good. But coupling action with planning will give you direction, it will help you realise the possibilities and reality behind your plans. 

You don't feel encouraged to continue or try something new. Maybe you need to reevaluate the way you look at your past experiences.

As a person with a fair amount of experience, I realise that sometimes we selectively look at our past. We overlook the bad or good moments depending on how situations might make us feel.

We may not be as objective as we think we are.  I personally found it more productive to learn from the past and continue with my current plans.

Success is also about the journey (Does it sound cliched? lol) But it is true...

Importance of Taking Action

But before I share it, Let me remind you of some reasons you may want to take action on your goals.

I am not perfect and I procrastinate as well. Yes, I do and I strive to be better.

I don't want to pretend like I got it all sorted, I don't. 

So here are some reasons I am sharing, You could check this post if you would like to read about them in detail.

Reason #1 You Deserve it
Reason #2 It may be valuable to others
Reason #3 It is not Selfish

Taking Action Quotes

I have handpicked these quotes that resonate with me.

I believe it summarizes what it means to take action.

I think taking small steps is more important than not working at your dreams.

Your actions don't need to be perfect, it needs to be in the right direction.

Quote #1:  You don't need Luck

Quote #2:  The opportunity is now

Quote #3:  Have a vision

Quote #4:  Value yourself first