Episode 36: Want a Better 2021? Start Now and Start Small
What’s really going to change on January 1, 2021? The hype around the fresh start of a new year can have the side effect of letting us wait to take action until the calendar turns over – we think there’s a better way.
If you’re looking for a better outcome in any domain in your life, don’t wait for an outside marker of a new start (new year, birthday, new semester). We suggest you start with small steps, now.
Sometimes we act our way into new ways of thinking, rather than waiting until our beliefs or thinking is different. Sometimes the “just do it” advice makes sense! There are lot of popular messages about gathering just a few moments of energy or courage to propel us into action (the movies We are the Millers, We Bought A Zoo and Mel Robbin’s work offer a few variations on the theme) – our experience is that sometimes this idea works as an alternative to over-thinking or over-planning.
Aligning your action – even small actions – with purpose and focus offers an antidote to thoughtless and frenzied action, making sure you’re working on something that matters to you and is likely to bring you closer to your goals. And the key word is ‘closer’.
We also talk through how to combat the instinct to ‘get it right’ by considering learning rather than perfect outcomes, knowing that even our imperfect actions can serve as practice rounds to get better at whatever we’re trying to take on. Finally, we offer the ideas of declaring your intentions out loud as a form of instant energy, and doing the post-action debrief to sort out how things went, and what could come next.
Starting now has the wonderful effect of building momentum in the areas of our life where we want to create change. As the great Dolly Parton says: Energy begets energy.
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