Do you have something you’ve wanted to do for a long time, but could never quite muster the motivation to start? Well, you’re definitely not alone. This past week, I had a handful conversations with dear friends who are each in a transitional state in their lives.

Some of them are considering going back to school, some are thinking about a career change, and some are planning on making a change in their relationship with themselves. All of these things are both exciting and terrifying at the same time.

Interestingly, within those conversations, I noticed one common thread: everyone seems to be scared to start. People are scared to start looking for a new job. They’re scared to think about what steps they need to take to reach their goal, and scared that if they start, they might fail.

• Finishing my capstone research project for my bachelor’s degree
• Cleaning out my room (which was overwhelmingly messy)
• Designing and teaching communication courses to men in a correctional facility
• Building this website (despite having zero experience and a general fear of working with technology)

Each of these things scared the HECK out of me. But I did them. and I want you to be able to do the things that scare you too.

Before we get to the list,

I want you to think of a current goal that scares you. Something you really want to accomplish but gives you a heavy feeling as soon as you think about trying to do what it takes to get there. Keep your scary goal in mind as you read. 

If you’re willing to try each of the things on this list, I truly believe you will begin building momentum towards that thing you really want in no time.

Let’s do this.

1. Admit What Scares You

Once you know what’s holding you back, recall the cliche phrase, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” If your fear makes you “unwilling to miss” or unwilling to allow yourself to be uncomfortable, then you will have a difficult time moving forward. So, in order to move on, you will have to consent to short term discomfort. 

I know that sounds kind of wacky, but if you are willing to be uncomfortable, then the discomfort alone will no longer be a barrier to you. So try to allow discomfort to be your partner in the process of doing something you’ve never done before.

Visualize opening your front door and welcoming it in instead of resisting it. Once that resistance is removed, you will be better able to take a leap of faith and continually try new things until something works.

TLDR: It is only when you acknowledge and welcome your discomfort that you will be able to push through it, and therefore dissolve it. 

2. Ask

A lot of people stop themselves before they even start with the thought “I don’t know what to do”. So many of us use “I don’t know” as a reason to not do something, and I want to challenge you to make a habit of replacing “I don’t know how” with “How?” 

You’d be surprised to find out that if you ask your brain a question directly, it usually comes up with an answer. So start by asking yourself how you can begin working towards your goal. 

Another option is, if you have people in your life who might know how to do what you’re trying to do, ask them! Unless you are trying to invent something that no one has ever thought of before, I guarantee that you will find some options for steps to move you forward, as long as you just have the courage to ask. 

When I asked myself “How do I start a blog?” I thought, “Well, I need a domain and website to post my content on. Then, I asked YouTube, “what website builder is best for bloggers,” which led me to WordPress. I just kept asking new questions, and they led me to dozens of answers I never would have found if I hadn’t been willing to ask. 

3. Start With The Smallest Possible Task

This strategy was recommended by my partner, Bradley, who has a career as a software developer. Because of the nature of his job, he is often starting new projects before he even finishes his previous ones. This can make it really difficult to want to start something new. So, to make it easier, he says start small.

In order to start small, you need to first divide up the big daunting goal into smaller, measurable tasks. Take a moment to list out some tasks you would need to do to move toward your goal. Then start with the smallest thing on the list.

When Bradley starts with the smallest task, he gains the feeling of having accomplished something sooner. With that initial sense of accomplishment, he can start building momentum and move on to other small things. In turn, he gains motivation to do more tasks than he would have if he had lacked that initial sense of accomplishment.

(p.s. Don’t forget to give yourself credit for whatever small task you’ve completed. No matter how small, it is a step in the right direction and is worth celebrating!)

Ultimately, this got me excited about getting closer to my goal and made me want to do more little things. 

Before I knew it, those little things added up to the big thing I was scared to start in the first place.

4. Schedule it in and Start Time Boxing

When I say schedule it in, I mean literally decide on a time to put in some work (ex. 3pm Friday). Then, physically write it down somewhere. I like to write things down in my calendar. But some other options could be setting an alarm on your phone or putting a sticky note where you know you’ll see it. 

When you decide on a time, dedicate a specific amount of time to the task and consider using time boxing as a strategy. Time boxing is one of the best productivity hacks out there.

If you want to learn more about time boxing and how it works, I highly recommend checking out the article How Timeboxing Works and Why It Will Make You More Productive from the Harvard Business Review. Time boxing is a great way to avoid the overwhelm of thinking about all the things on your to-do list at the same time.

To put it simply, you will get a lot more done if you estimate the time it will take to complete a task, try to complete the task in the time you’ve estimated, and trust that you will get more done if you focus on one thing at a time.

5. Just 10 Minutes

One of my closest friends got this one from a counseling session and absolutely swears by it!.

However, generally speaking, once you start the thing, it’s a whole lot easier to keep going. 

You can easily set a timer for this. Usually when I use this strategy, I plan to work for 10 minutes. Then, if I get interested in what I’m working on, I end up putting in more time than I planned. 

6. Write Down Your Goal

But first, To share or not to share?

Originally, I wanted to say that you should share your goals on social media in order to hold yourself accountable. However, it turns out there is a lot of research which suggests you really should not do this. There’s even a Ted Talk that explains why you shouldn’t tell people what your goals are. 

To put it simply, receiving acknowledgement for the goals we share with others gives us satisfaction. For most people, that feeling of satisfaction can trick your mind into feeling like the goal is already done and therefore lessen the likelihood that you will work to achieve it. 

I was SUPER surprised when I learned this because I have developed a strong habit of sharing my goals with other people. But when I do it, it’s because I am specifically pushing myself to do more than I feel ready for, because I like to to push myself outside of my comfort zone. 

Unfortunately, that tactic doesn’t work for everyone. Depending on your personality, you might be better off writing down your goals and reminding yourself what your goals are regularly instead of telling other people. 

Regardless of Whether sharing works for you, Write down your goal

There’s plenty of research showing writing down your goals makes you more likely to achieve them, and people who very vividly describe or picture their goals are anywhere from 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to successfully accomplish their goals. 

Writing down your goals (or perhaps creating a vision board?) will help you keep your goals at the forefront of your mind. At the same time, it will encourage you to take steps to get there. 

7. Put Some Skin in The Game

A great way to prove to yourself that you are committed to your goal is to invest in yourself or some resources monetarily. If you’re not willing to put a few $ in, then maybe you don’t want that end-goal as much as you think you do. 

(Obviously, depending on your class, you may not have as much freedom or ability to invest in new things. But if you have the ability to invest something, no matter how small, then doing so will be a commitment you make to yourself and for yourself).

For my goal of starting a blog, I invested in Elite Blog Academy’s New Blogger’s toolbox  And with that, I received so much advice and tools to help me kickstart my blog. It was 100% worth the money, and I wouldn’t be where I am without it.

In conclusion

There are several things you can do to help you get started. But eventually, it’ll all come down to you. You have to decide to start. Choose a starting strategy that you think you can do, and do it.  

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Did this post resonate with you? If so, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send me a message to share your thoughts. For more uplifting content, check out some other posts on my blog, follow me on instagram @morgan_barbret, or sign up for the Self Love Atlas Newsletter!

Cheers, 

Morgan Rita Barbret