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“We start where we start. There’s no shame in that.” Jillian Michaels
In every person’s life things happen that send them in one direction or another. Sometimes that leads to great things other times not so much.
But when we decide that we are going to make a change, well we start where we start. If you are 100 lbs overweight and can’t do one push-up, then that is where you are starting from. Don’t compare yourself to someone who has only 10 lbs to lose and can do 20 push-ups with one arm.
The point is to start. Once you start you need to keep going. You will feel uncomfortable. It will be hard. You will doubt yourself and want to quit.
DO NOT QUIT
Being uncomfortable is how you know you are on the right track.
No matter what it is that you are trying to achieve it starts with the first small step. If you are trying to pay off your debt and you owe $50,000 you will either have to do more every month to get rid of it or commit to more months or years to pay it off.
Don’t compare yourself with the people out there who say that they paid off the same amount as you in one year when you know that it will take you much longer. Maybe you make $30,000 a year, but they make $100,000. This is not the same situation. It is not the same starting point.
Your situation is your own. You must decide what you are willing and able to do and commit to doing it. If all you can do is save an extra $10 a month for your debt then that is what you can do. Take that step and don’t look back.
Time is your friend
The more time that passes the more you will accomplish. If you can only do one push-up a day maybe in 3 months you are doing 20 a day. It still isn’t what others can do, but who fucking cares what others can do. This is your life and no one else has to live your life, but you.
There is a story about Jerry Seinfeld and an ingenious technique he has for getting things done. The story goes that a young comic asked him if he had any tips. He said to create better jokes. In order to create better jokes, they would need to write every day.
The key here that he told the young comic to get a big wall calendar with the whole year on the one page. Hang it up on the wall. Then get a big red marker. Every day that the writing task was done he would put a big red X over the day.
Seinfeld said “After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.”
This works for anything you are trying to do. Start where you can start and do it every day. You will improve and move towards your ultimate goal.
“It takes 4 weeks for you to notice your body changing, 8 weeks for your friends to notice, & 12 weeks for the rest of the world to notice. Give it 12 weeks. Don’t quit.” Jillian Michaels
This is a professional talking about how long it takes to see results. They won’t come fast and they don’t come easy. If you feel like you are starting too far behind, stop feeling bad about it. If you don’t start today you are just falling further behind what you want.
This is what I want you to do today.
Determine the biggest thing in your life what you want to change. Set a goal that makes you feel uncomfortable. I mean it makes you feel a little sick to think about how hard it is. Then determine one small task that will help make it happen.
Once you have that small task determine how much you can do each day. Don’t worry about everything that comes after today. Just do your task for today. Then tomorrow do that task again. Do this until you are reaching your goal. Just like Seinfeld with his writing.
Keep up your chain and don’t give up on yourself. No one else can do this for you, but you.
