How to Crush the Fear of Starting Something New and Get Achieving

How do you get started on something new?

Like the old Nike catchphrase, I would like to say, “Just Do It!” however, we all know that this is not as easy as it sounds.

Whether pursuing something you love, something you think you love, a daily chore or something you are dreading, getting started is often the first and tallest of hurdles.

The first hurdle is the one that makes or breaks a project because once we begin putting it off, the procrastination builds as we justify not doing it with more and stronger excuses.

Procrastination is putting off the first action.

So, let’s break it down:

How I Start Any Task

I start by committing 5 minutes to uninterrupted concentration and effort.

Even when a project is completely new and a daunting prospect, I begin with just 5 minutes.  That 5 minutes typically becomes more.

When you are staring at a mountain before you, it is best to look at your feet and concentrate on that very first step.  When I began my website, I had no idea how to begin, but I did by watching an inspirational 5-minute YouTube video summarising how a website works.  Over time I began to shape and hone my own website bit by bit.

Think of a sculptor staring at their first shapeless form of marble.  A vision of what the sculptor wants the marble to look like is there, but the first chip needs to be struck.  As each chip is chiselled out, a shape begins to take form.  Continually chipping, evaluating and chipping again leads to the expression of the vision coming to artistic life.

In the case of my website, this chipping away meant shaping the title, forming a page, reflecting and adding, reflecting and deleting, until a better and more representative shape of my vision began to express itself.

The same went for writing my books.  Long-pondered thoughts became notes which were then ordered into categories and areas, which were shaped into sentences, which were placed under chapters, which were reviewed and edited dozens of times over to become a logical expression of all my thoughts and ideas.  Then came the design and formatting of the book, the cover, the ISBN, the blurb and the copyright page.

Everything takes effort.  But good things come from small and persistent actions.

Get Started… On anything!

Know that nearly everyone on this planet has difficulty starting.  Those who do reap the self-satisfaction of having made the effort to have a go and see it through.

If you think of an Olympic or dedicated athlete, you often think of someone being paid for their sport.  However, most athletes are unpaid and have day jobs or study.  In order to train, they wake up early, travel to their training (despite the weather and how tired they might feel) and complete their training routine.  After work or study, they often repeat the same process of training.  This takes discipline and a vision to improve and achieve.

Your first step is to choose one thing that comes to mind that you need to get moving on.  Now fix a number to it.  It can be the amount of time, let’s say 1-minute only.  Right, focus on that task for 1-minute only.  Once you get started, that 1-minute typically becomes more.

If a time limit doesn’t help, fix a number of repetitions.  “Okay, I will write 20 words.”  See where that takes you.  You can do the same for exercise, fix a time or fix a number of repetitions or a fix a distance.

Shape your Environment

Pre-prepare your environment ahead of time.  Set your desk up ready the night before.  Write a plan of the order of steps you need in which to get things done.  Have your running shoes by the door ready for your jog.  Shaping your environment is a good reminder and trigger to make a start.

Form a Disciplined habit

When do you work at your best?  For me, most of my highest levels of focused energy and clarity comes in the morning between 7a.m. and 11a.m.  I get more done at this time than any other.  Therefore, I dedicate this time to completing the most difficult of my tasks, including those I occasionally dread.  Get the most difficult tasks done when you are at your strongest.  What times of the day suit you best?

Channel your Energy into an Exciting Project

It is time to make your mark and bring all your creativity into a project.

If you fear failure or even success, put that to the side and prioritise just trying.  There is after all, no harm in trying.  What’s the worst that can happen?  The most important thing is to start the first action in the time-frame, word count, number of repetitions or distance you have assigned.

Aim for simplicity, just the skeleton of an idea and make it exciting.  Don’t get bogged down in detail.  Have one focus only and cut all the other details.

Your focus might be writing the first two lines of the setting of a story, learning 3 phrases of small talk, jumping a skipping rope 10 times in a row, looking at a website for inspiration or laying out your tools ready and using the very first.  Start with the first step and ignore the mountain.

Do not expect perfection.  Perfection comes from all the steps you have made along the way.

The great American author Ernest Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is shit.”

I can assure you that with effort and persistence, whatever you start is guaranteed to get better.

If you would like to improve your motivation and positivity for life, consider reading my book “Be Happy more often”