About what´s holding us back
„If you are the kind of person who is waiting for the ‘right’ thing to happen, you might wait for a long time. It’s like waiting for all the traffic lights to be green for five miles before starting the trip“
Have you ever thought that it would be fun to learn to tap dance, take a drawing course or improve a language? Or have you ever thought it might be exciting to produce a short film or to write poetry? Would you like to find out what it feels to create your own homepage or design T-Shirts?
If the answer is yes - why didn't you do it? What is holding you back?
One of the biggest killjoys seems to be time. And yes, life is made up of different seasons and sometimes it really is not the right time. But often we forget that we have a choice. If you want to make a career, run a marathon, win the table tennis championship and write a bestseller simultaneously, then this won't work for most people. But let's talk about John Doe, who is watching TV every night or spends his evenings with social media. Does he really have no time?
To have no time is the most plausible excuse for us and therefore the most convenient one. These days it´s soo normal to be busy. Not having time is so obvious that we don't question it any further!
But let´s face it - the correct wording for „I have no time“ should be: „I have decided that something else is more important to me.“
Tell me someone who would turn down a date with Brad Pitt because of too little time. You don’t HAVE time. You TAKE time. If something is important to us, we take our time. Conversely, this means that if we do not take the time it can´t be very relevant to us. Obviously we decided that other things are more important. So the crucial thing is to make our decisions consciously. Instead of living on autopilot we should reflect what we are actually doing all day long.
Maybe it´s possible to switch some of your activities? Can you turn an hour of watching TV into an hour of guitar lessons? Why not cancel a boring meeting to walk around the block? How about spending an hour on an online drawing class instead of browsing the internet?
So, if you would like to start your personal project but you feel to have no time, ask yourself: Is it important to me? And even if fancy ideas are rarely proof vital, this does not mean that your project ideas are unimportant. I firmly believe that most of us need more than just food and work to keep our balance.
But maybe there is another thing that´s stopping us. We may fool ourselves that we don`t have time, but gradually we realize that it´s just an excuse. So what is the real reason not to get started?
Perhaps a diffuse fear is holding us back. You may believe that you are too old, too shy or too clumsy. You may suppose that you are unable to learn french or to write a book. And somehow it just seems silly that YOU will write a song. Your inner belief is that your project will end up badly. Your goofy idea will be just be an embarrassing waste of time.
Have you ever heard of analysis paralysis? This refers to a situation in which an individual is unable to move forward as a result of overthinking. High expectations and perfectionism put a lot of pressure on us. The new task seems too big. Where to start? Is it the right moment? Do I have a perfect plan? Am I well prepared? Do I have enough knowledge? Is there any better idea? Could my project be done more entertaining, more exciting, more valuable? Because of our own high expectations this often happens: the project will be postponed. At first, you decide to carry out the project at a later date. But in many cases the idea disappears completely. Folks, I can tell you a thing or two about it ;)
A friend told me a simple yet terrific way to reflect your wishes. In fact, she first used it on her children when she asked them these two questions to figure out what to do:
Is it dangerous?
Do you really want it?
With that in mind it becomes pretty obvious: There is no real risk in writing a poem!
Though there are always many reasons against something - in the end we tend to regret what we did NOT do. All the cool ideas that never got implemented!
Courage, dear heart - Dare to make experiences! And don’t worry too much: It's not about knowing the whole way at the beginning. There is no need to find a solution to every possible problem that may arise. Looking at too many problems at once is usually the reason we don't even start putting our ideas into practice.
The only thing that matters is knowing your direction and then taking action. Dare the first step - and then move on, step by step. You do not have to think about your 78th oder 152th step. Time will tell.
„Many a false step was made by standing still.“
I really believe that it doesn't have to result in a straight path - on the contrary! Those who stay open minded will receive a lot of new inspiration and knowledge on their way. And looking at the bigger picture: There is no goal to be achieved in life. Life is a journey.
If you don't know where to start, the best advice is probably: just start somewhere. Forget perfectionism, press the just-do-it-button and be aware of these steps:
If the thought of „I would like to …”? keeps circling in your head, take it as sign - just do it
Dare to take action and take the first step. The first step ist the most important and the hardest.
Then, take small (!) and regular steps. Slow and steady wins the race
Appreciate the experiences on your way
You cross the bridge when you come to it
Take it easy! Enjoy what you are doing. It´s all just a game ;)
„Do the thing and you will have the power.“