[ get started ]

Getting Started

The first step in getting started is “choosing to start.” This is a conscious choice – one based on moving forward with your goals and dreams.

The question is – how? There are two approaches I’ve found that work well.

The first approach is to choose one area of your life to focus on or one goal you want to achieve. This may be areas like family, friends, career, spirituality, education, a new relationship – whatever you choose.

Picture your end result – see it clearly and feel the feelings related to achieving it. Then see the steps you need to take to achieve this goal – halfway there, a quarter of the way there, almost there – and write down those steps.

Then, write down a mini-step you can take right now to move forward. Maybe it’s a phone call regarding a new job, or sending for applications materials for school, or signing up on a dating website.

Take one step now – and take a step every day until you reach your goal.

The second approach is to look at your life and choose a near-term goal (one to three years out) for each area of your life. Keep this to no more than 5 areas. Then, each day take mini-steps to reach your goals. Perhaps you work on one goal every day for a week, then the next goal, then the next. Or, you could work one step for each goal daily.

I usually use the second approach – with multiple goals moving forward little by little during the week. I set long-term and annual goals. I break each down by 3-month increments, then I set one-month goals. I plan each week, and every day I take some sort of step forward on my goals. I evaluate where I am monthly and update as needed – moving faster or slower based on the past month’s results.

The key is to set a goal and start moving.