Set the bar low. Crazy advice to give in a world where GRINDING and working ourselves to death seems to be the popular thing to do, eh? My idea of the secret to creating a beautiful life from scratch is to start slowly with KISS (Keep It Super Simple) and to set the bar super low. Under-committing, then over-delivering, is a great way to get started, and build AMAZING amounts of confidence. Start small, and take baby steps, but START. Even if we are high achievers, this can be great advice. With all we may have on our plates already, going big can be overwhelming, discouraging, counter-productive, and detrimental, to what we want to accomplish.
This is just one of limitless ways to get started on ANYTHING. Some of the best advise I have ever heard: Experiment with everything, then keep doing what WORKS.
It is easy to make a list of easy-to-accomplish goals and actions. As we complete THOSE easy action steps, daily and consistently, we will build confidence through consistency. We will build MASSIVE amounts of momentum. Before we can get good at taking massive action, we can first choose to practice getting good at taking easier actions on a consistent basis. Habit creation is incredibly helpful, and comes easily, through repetition, daily practice, and consistency. Pretty soon, taking massive action won’t seem like a big deal at all-it will simply be the natural result.
It’s just like going to the gym. We don’t start out a new workout routine by curling the 100 pound dumbbells and squatting 800 pounds. If that is the goal we do want to reach, however, it is possible. Anything is possible. It may take us years to accomplish this goal, but we can certainly train our body to complete these tasks. The mind is no different.
We would start off by curling the 10 pound dumbbells for a few weeks, giving our body the proper rest, recovery time, nutrition, and training, that it needs to heal. We would record and track each and every part of our progress, including time spent, nutrients ingested, reps completed, etc. TRACKING PLAYS A KEY ROLL IN CONTINUAL PROGRESS. There is just something about witnessing progress that is beautiful, motivating, inspiring, and energizing. Then we would go up to the 15 or 20 pound dumbbells, and continue to progress throughout the months to come. It is the same with squatting. We would start with a lighter weight, giving our body the proper amount of time to rest and the correct nutrient ratios, as well as time to heal, along the way. We would record and track each and every bit of our progress. We would progressively increase the weight until our goals were reached, and then do what is necessary to maintain the success we have achieved.
As with all things, if we don’t use it, we lose it. It’s perfectly okay to rest and recover, but if we slow down for too long, we lose momentum! Sometimes, when we slow down for too long, we lose our progress and have to start again. That is okay. It is NEVER too late to begin again.
That which we focus on will manifest itself more and more in our lives. That which we do not feed with focus will become malnourished, devoid of energy, and die, eventually disappearing entirely.
The trick to any goal is to know exactly what we want and to begin immediately to work towards it, consistently and daily. Something is always better than nothing when we are working on goals.
OUR ACTIONS EXPRESS OUR PRIORITIES.
It is the same with ALL things in life. Starting small, focusing intensely on what we want to accomplish, and training ourselves to go big over time, by taking small, easy, consistent steps, while incrementally doing more and more, will make it more likely for us to keep going when we don’t want to anymore, and will help us to eventually accomplish much more, building confidence and enjoyment, because of the many small successes along the way. The key is to enjoy the process along the way.
No matter what it is we accomplish, no matter how big or small, is a win! I love the way Jesse Elder describes his ideas of this life. He teaches that the day we are born, we ALREADY won the game of life. WHAT AN EMPOWERING BELIEF! Every moment after that is an opportunity to level up, experiment, learn, and enjoy each day as a blessing and an opportunity.
HABITS ARE NOT A FINISH LINE TO BE CROSSED,
BUT RATHER A LIFESTYLE
TO BE LIVED.
Each day we create a small success, we enjoy a small win. These small wins stack, compound, and compile, and eventually we are enjoying successful days. Successful days then begin to stack, compound, and compile. The success days become successful weeks. The successful weeks become successful months. Momentum continues to amass, and these successful months turn into successful years. The key is to never quit. Failing will be a natural part of pushing ourselves, if we push ourselves hard and long enough. If we don’t keep progressing into higher degrees of difficulty, we will never be uncomfortable, and it is through being uncomfortable that we grow. Again is the aggressive pursuit of comfort. It is through the process of damage, struggle, pain, trauma, and times of rest and recovery, that we are able to heal and become better, stronger, faster, and more skilled. Our lives were not meant to be easy and convenient all the time. The Universe was created to conspire on our behalf. When we consistently do our best each day, what we focus on doing will become easier each day. When we consistently do our best, our best will consistently become better.
Start small. Take baby steps. Set the bar low. Get to work.
Succeed. Repeat. Enjoy the process, all along the way.
Today, if I have no goals, I will set a few. I will envision what I want in three years, then break it down into easy, daily, consistent steps or action items that I can consistently, easily, and quickly accomplish, as a part of my daily routine. If I already have goals, I will review them, look at how far I have come, celebrate my successes, be proud of what I have done, and course-correct, if necessary. I will be proud of my progress each moment along the way, and remember that most of my progress will be achieved during times of rest and recovery.
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Remember: Mindset matters. Character counts. That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives. WE CREATE our realities.