Getting started is the hardest step when trying to move forward. It is often the scariest step to.
What if I fail?
What if I’m rejected?
What if I make a mistake?
What if I ______________?
You can fill in the blank of why you shouldn’t try. There is ALWAYS a reason not to, just as well as there is a reason to do it. Learning to look at both sides of the coin is hard. Our brains are hardwired for survival which is pretty incredible because it can always seek out a potential threat. But sometimes a potential threat is a load of crap.
With every choice we make we can have different outcomes. Each decision takes us on down a different path. It’s like we’re in a huge life maze trying to find happiness and success and every step we take can bring us closer or farther from our goal.
Even you took this same mentality ona smaller scale goal. It still always comes down to a choice. Your choice. Sure there are challenges in every maze and there are definitely road blocks but every step we take, whether it be forward or backwards, it’s still a choice that WE make.
This truth was super empowering and incredibly scary to learn. Because it really meant that I was responsible for my own happiness. I couldn’t blame it on anyone else. I had the power to choose which felt like a boulder sitting on my shoulders. It stressed me out because I was a perfectionist, so the idea of making a wrong choice did not give me any comfort. But I knew I wasn’t 100% satisfied with my life and so came a series of choices, and a series of mistakes.
Every mistake challenged me to accept that I was not able to be perfect. It challenged my identity because that is who I became known to be, the girl who did no wrong. Flawless on the outside but broken on the inside. I had to take the mask off and accept that there was no perfection. That truth hurt even though logically I knew there was no such thing as perfection, if there was Apple wouldn’t come out with a better phone every year. I say that just because I downloaded the new software and there are of course some kinks that they will correct.
So if Apple, a multi-billion dollar company can afford to make a few mistakes, then why can’t little ole me make one or two every once in a while. So back to making mistakes. Being ‘ok’ with that was a game changer, I started trying different things. Some things worked beautifully and others, well lets just say I’ve learned some new ways of how NOT to do something.
I haven’t had any major issues or failures, just lots of mini ones. Its’ those one degree shift that over time change the trajectory of where you’re headed. I think that’s the key. Often we think we have to make these radical shifts or we think one choice will send us down a wormhole that’s difficult to get out of. But the reality is we can make the smallest of decisions that will create the biggest impact. Over time the choices will become habit and then be easier to make and build upon. It’s the domino effect. One positive choice leads to more and soon enough you look back and think “what the heck, how’d I get here.”
So start… start now and start small. Make one choice daily, then build on it. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. We are human. That’s just what we do!