I believe most of us want to improve ourselves, becoming better in specific areas, more fit, healthier and experience more in life. I know I do. If we want to improve ourselves how do we begin, how do we get over the hump, or stop procrastinating? There are a ton of books and courses on this very subject, and I have read a lot of books and taken courses….still do. Many methods focus on dealing with your thoughts and feelings. All you have to do is change your thoughts, think positive, focus on all the good you can do, and become if you start to balance your thoughts and emotions, so you are mentally and emotionally ready to get after it. To start this way you have to ‘quiet your mind’ and start to create positive and empowering beliefs, this will build your self-esteem, and through positive affirmations and self-talk you can find your focus to affirm your personal power and gain control over your emotions and visualize yourself doing what you want, how you want to do it and see yourself becoming the way you want to be. Once all that is done you can align everything up just right so that you have the confidence to get motivated to want to commit yourself to start what you want to do…..that’s it….holy Hanna what a lot of psychobabble!
Or you could just decide to Do It and take action!
No one is ever going to be 100% ready and your life will always be happening. There will never be a perfect time, but there is always a right time: the time you make to do it. So make time, take a deep breath and get started. Once started, keep going.
Over the 41 years that I have been training and 30 years I have been teaching I have found a couple of things to be true. First, doing something, anything, even the smallest amount of training is a million times better than all the ideas and plans to train…but not actually training. Second, I have never felt or said, “I wish I would not have come in and trained.” However, there have been numerous times when I have said, “I wish I would’ve went in and got something done”. So whether you are already a capable athlete or someone simply interested in a new experience, when starting a new activity, art, technique, training method…be gentle with yourself. Show yourself the same tolerance and patience you would a beginner or a small child learning something new….the same child you once were! No one started out knowing how to walk. Everyone fell many, many times, in the process. Everyone around you encouraged you and never gave up on you…and lo and behold, nearly every single able person walks…just like you. We all need to be kids again. Children make errors, that is what they do – learning to crawl, walk, eat with utensils, drink out of a cup, skip rope, ride a bike, swim….everything must be learned and making mistakes is simply part of the process. The crazy thing is, children learn at a pace far beyond almost every adult. Stop worrying and become like a child again in regards to trying new things and be on your path towards mastery. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are, and just have fun doing it.
