There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happens.
-Tommy LaSorda, Hall of Fame baseball manager
Starting. It’s difficult, isn’t it?
Often you can see the path that leads to success in your financial life, your craft, or your career, but you just can’t bring yourself to make the first move.
There are many reasons people don’t start. Most of them are labeled procrastination by people around you. I don’t think that’s fair. There are many, many reasons to wait on your goals, most of them far more involved than simple “procrastination.”
- You don’t have all the facts yet.
- You have other priorities.
- It isn’t the right time of year.
- You’ll be fresh tomorrow.
- When you get money, it’ll be easier to start.
- Once you pay off that old debt, then you can begin again.
- The kids are about to go to school/end school/be born.
All of these are reasons to wait. Most of them are even good reasons. No matter, we know for certain one fact: it’s clear that now isn’t a good time to start anything new. But, you still know in the back of your head that if you don’t start now, there’s a chance that you never will.
There is only one truth I’ve found with financial planning: It’s never the perfect time to start.
This is the same truth for your craft.
If we already know that tomorrow is going to be as bad as yesterday, the only course of action is to begin now.
But it’s so hard!
How do you do it?
The answer is more simple than you think.
Just take action.
Don’t worry about whether it’s the right move. Don’t think about making the whole mountain of financial tasks perfect.
Just begin one task.
In fact, let’s make it even easier. Don’t even try to finish the single task.
Just start.
I’ve found that if you just swing your energy into starting a task, the sense of accomplishment you’ll gain will pull it through to the end.
This Isn’t My Opinion, It’s Science!
I love discovering a secret that really isn’t a secret at all. It was Isaac Newton who first said:
An object in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted upon by an equal or stronger force.
Remember that quote from high school science class? In this case, the body Newton is talking about is you.
What are the “stronger forces” that Newton describes, which can stop you from achieving your goal? There aren’t many but in this case, they’re all of those reasons I listed above. If any of these are actually valid reasons you shouldn’t be pursuing your goal, you’ll stop working immediately.
You know the truth: most of the time, none of these reasons which are now holding you back are real. Fear is what’s stopping you. By setting out in motion, you’ll break through fear and create spectacular results.
What You’ll Find
In nearly all instances, once you’ve begun a task, you’re on your way. You’ll finish it, and usually you’ll finish it well.
Additionally, you’ll learn. You’ll figure out what the next logical task is. Your mind will be so happy with the sense of accomplishment, that you’ll probably even start the next task. You might create a “to do” list of all the things you still need to do.
It’s all about making that one little move.
Your Homework: As Nike Says, “Just Do It”
Find one single task that will make your financial life easier. Maybe it’s opening a checking account. It could be tracking your budget. Possibly, it’s figuring out which insurances are best.
Whatever it is, just start. Don’t worry about finishing.
You’ll be surprised by the results.