Another new year is upon us and many of us feel the desire to set new goals and resolutions for 2022. But just having good intentions and writing those resolutions cannot guarantee actual results. With the start of 2022, we get to have a new set of 525,600 minutes. Just imagine all the things that could happen in those minutes! In fact, I want to tell you that getting started is what makes things happen.
Shall I start? How do I start? When do I start? And, most importantly, where do I start
I keep hearing these questions being asked over and over again – whether we want to start something for our own development, such as a form of exercise or a hobby or a book or a new path in life, or for our careers, changing our course – the ongoing self-questioning is always there. Shall I? Will I? And then, multiple how, when and where questions.
Asking yourself questions before you start something new can, in fact, help you to clarify your path, see a strategic line, make well-thought plans and follow them with dynamic actions. But the one question that opens the pathway to finding answers to all other questions and actually achieve your plans is: where do I start?
When writing my new motivational book “1 Minute Later: Keep Moving”, one of the things I wanted to achieve was helping others unfold the secret of having things done, achieving excellence and always moving forward. In the book, I share the #1MinuteLater system – a minute by minute guide I have developed and tested over decades to guide readers through utilizing the power of a single minute in actually having the job done.
It only takes #1Minute to start
As I’ve said in “1 Minute Later: Keep Moving”, “The start is where everything begins.” Many of us have been in situations where starting something was the hardest thing to do. But it does not need to be that way.
Here, I want to share a few steps to help you actually get started and effectively have things moving forward.
Step 1: making the decision to actually start
You have the desire to do something – start doing something, creating something else or learning a new thing. At this point, you may have no idea where to start, but making that single decision has the power to help you through finding answers to all the other questions.
Making that decision will then help you think about your goals and gradually make them smart – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
Prior to writing “1 Minute Later: Keep Moving”, I had the desire to write a new book. But making the decision to start writing was actually the one turning point. Immediately, my focus was directed on deciding the remaining aspects of my book – what it was going to tell the readers, when I was going to complete it, how I was going to plan everything. With every passing minute, I was able to do one more thing that brought me closer to my goal: having my book written, published, and in the hands of its readers.
Step 2: understanding where you are
Find out where exactly you stand in your path of achieving your goals. Whether you are at the very beginning and in need of completing plenty of preparatory tasks to get started or somewhere in the middle with quite a few tasks already achieved, you need to make this stop, take an honest, objective look at yourself and assess where you are.
“1 Minute Later: Keep Moving” is the first book I have published on Amazon. Before my first move, I made a stop and took a look at where I was standing in the path of what I wanted to achieve. As I understood my position (I already had the English translation of the book but did not have made any contact with Amazon), I could clearly see the next step I needed to take to achieve my goal.
Step 3: understanding why you are where you are
And note down whatever ideas come to your mind that you think could help you move forward.
Let’s say, you are at the very beginning of your path. Ask yourself: why? Is it because you need to develop a certain skill or need to deepen your knowledge? Or is it because you have to do a certain action? Right in the answers of your questions lies your plan.
Note down every reason that you can see and create an action plan. Minute by minute, it will help you move towards new achievements.
In my example of publishing “1 Minute Later: Keep Moving” on Amazon, I was close to the middle of my path because while I had the book ready, I still needed to know how I would have it published on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. And right there my action plan was drawn: start by learning everything I could on self-publishing a book on Amazon.
Step 4: grasping the real value of time
Whenever I want to hold time in my hands, I set a timer to 1 minute and start doing a task, sometimes the one I had been putting off. Everytime I do this, I am amazed at what can be achieved #1Minute at a time.
Every single minute, when used right, holds the power of making you an achiever. You generate something that was not there only a single minute ago – you make a small achievement within just 1 minute.
Many of us use public transportation almost daily. It fills up at least 20 minutes of our days. That is 20 #1Minutes! What could you do during those 20 minutes? So many things! You could pass your time in the realms of social media, or read an article on how to start your online business. If you choose to do the latter, you have already made your start!
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Dedicating #1Minute at a time to things that help you focus on your goals will in fact help you get started. Now is the time to start! Make your decision and get moving making the best use of the minute-by-minute system. You may also grab a copy of “1 Minute Later: Keep Moving” to find plenty of helpful exercises to better prepare you to make your start.
