Setting Goals

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Your plan, no matter how simple or how complex, begins the same way.

The first action you take is the one that overcomes inertia, the one that transforms you from a body at rest to a body in motion. Take that action and you have the momentum you need to carry you to the next action. That’s all you have to worry about. You don’t need enough momentum to complete your whole plan; all you need is enough to complete your next action. Then that momentum will carry you to the next action, then the next, then the next after than, until you complete your wish.

The secret of that first action is to make it so simple that you give yourself no reason to resist it. For instance, if your wish calls for you to become a professional drummer, tell yourself you’re just going to practice a few notes. If you want to get a new job, tell yourself you’re just going to update the first line of your resume. If you want to become a movie star, tell yourself you’re just going to watch a movie to see how the pros do it.

You can never finish what you never start. The easier you make it on yourself to take the first action, the greater your chances to make it to the last action, the one that completes your plan and makes your wish come true.