Day 91: On Starting Now
We don’t tell ourselves, “I’m never going to write my symphony.” Instead we say, “I am going to write my symphony; I’m just going to start tomorrow.”
Here’s a principle to introduce today and adhere to it for the rest of your life: whenever you’re saying “I’m going to start tomorrow,” stop whatever you’re doing now and do something — anything — to start now
.
It doesn’t have to be anything big and it doesn’t mean you have to be reckless and start working on your goals without any kind of research on how to tackle your new challenge. Just take an action that is in alignment with your new resolution and it will take you at least a little bit closer to accomplishing your objectives.
Let’s say you want to start a new diet. Instead of saying that you’re going to start tomorrow, take the first action today: inspect your pantry, lay out on the table all of the foods that you’re going to give up, and get them out of your house.
If you want to start saving money, don’t put it off until your next paycheck. Inspect your house, find things you no longer use and list them online for sale. The money you make from selling your old possessions goes straight to your emergency fund.
Such simple actions are real-world implementations of your new resolution and will greatly diminish the risk that when you wake up the next day, you won’t remember your decision to change your life (
or tell yourself that you need one more day before you start). They also make it easier to overcome your inertia and begin to develop momentum toward reaching your stated goal.