How to Move a Mountain

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photo credit: mahalie

You have something big you must do. And you can’t seem to get it done. Maybe you’re intimidated by the magnitude of the task. Maybe you’re paralyzed to the point of inaction because you don’t know where to start. Perhaps you are procrastinating by working on everything else besides your big to-do item. So how do you break out and get it done?

One shovelful at a time.

Easier said than done, right? Not if you can see things from the right perspective. Once you change how you think about it, then you can start your journey of a 1000 miles with that one step that will lead to the next and all the way to the finish line. Here’s how:

If you haven’t made progress on your Big Item, it’s likely that guilt is blocking you from getting started or moving forward. And on top of that, the habit of not working on your Big Item becomes more entrenched the longer you avoid it. So here’s what you need to do:

1. Forgive Yourself – beating yourself up over not making progress does not get your task or project done. In fact it makes it tougher to get it done. So just stop. Stop aiming for perfection. Be kind to yourself by giving yourself the same level of encouragement you might give to a young child trying to tackle something big.

2. Decide to Start – simply make a decision to start anew today. Decide that you’ll do your best, but that it won’t be perfect and that’s ok. You can work on quality later.

3. Take One Step – start small, but just start. Do one thing today. That’s all. Just do it. Make it the first thing you do today or if it’s the middle of the day, make it the very next thing you do.

4. Quick Plan – make your plan to do one more thing tomorrow. Just one. Don’t agonize over it. Just pick one and go on with you day.

5. Praise – give yourself massive amounts of praise for getting that one thing done! Whoo hoo! You just started a whole new habit! If you fall out of the habit, simply return to Step 1.

6. Continue – keep taking steps until your Big Item is done!

Please Share!

How do you get the big stuff done? All comments big and small are very welcomed!