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There it is again………….This idea you’ve been toying with for a while now. Or maybe less specific, a nagging feeling telling you that you could do with some change.But you just don’t know how to get started.

Whichever it is, it keeps re-appearing. And yet, you haven’t done the slightest thing about it (other than daydreaming maybe). Sound familiar?

A lot of us have something on their mind they would like to do/achieve. However, just as many times that’s exactly where this something will remain. On our minds. And that’s too bad.

Granted, some of those ideas may look like an Everest we look up to from sea level (if we were able to see that far up that is). It can be a bit disheartening, I give you that. How the heck, would I ever be able to make it all the way up there? Not possible………….

I say: Nonsense!

If you REALLY want it, it is very possible!

What do I mean by that? Well, a lot of times we are very creative when it comes to finding excuses. We come up with a myriad of reasons why we cannot do a certain thing. And that’s normal!

That’s simply how our brain is wired. It is supposed to talk us out of doing things which are unfamiliar, not tried and tested to be safe and take us out of our comfort zone. And generally, that’s a good thing because nature’s intention was not to hinder our progress (even though that’s what can happen if you let it) but to protect us.

That’s why it is important that you really want to do/reach/achieve X, Y or Z. Because if you don’t, you will just give in to all the “reasons” why you cannot or should not do it. It’s much easier.

That’s also the reason why the word just in the title is in parenthesis. Because it’s not always easy get started.

Stop talking yourself out of it and (just) get started!

The thing is, if you don’t it’s definitely not going to happen.

“Duh, thanks for pointing out the obvious,” you say. I know I did.

Come on, you have to admit, that it’s very easy to get caught up in thinking about what you would like to do instead of taking the first step and actually doing it. I’m no different and am still a work in progress.

So sometimes, a little reminder that action is required is just what we need. Believe me, I do remind myself of this. All. The. Time.

Very clever guy that Henry Ford.

It doesn’t really matter what your vision is.

It could be anything from a career change, moving to another city or even country to learning how to drive a car/motorcycle, paint, knit, sing, ski, speak another language, create a website or write a book. The list is endless. And I’m sure you get the idea.

And, as mentioned before, we sometimes just know that something’s got to give. We know that we would like to try something new but don’t really know what exactly it is.

In a way that’s how it was like for me.

I have never been a career type of girl. My work was a means to an end so we could have a roof over our heads, had enough of what we wanted to eat and drink, didn’t have to wear rags (I am not into fashion and don’t play the name game) but had nice clothes we liked. 

For a long time, I thought and about doing something more, maybe go back to school or do some kind of training. But it was never important enough for me to make it a priority and that I would be willing to pay the price of the inconvenience it would mean – seeing less of my daughter,

Then our boat was rocked when my mom was diagnosed with dementia.  With every visit back home, I felt a very strong need to be there much more.

I knew something had to give that would work for everyone.

There was no point in just blindly leave everything here and go back to Germany. After all, I was well past my 40th Birthday and had a good life with a secure job here in Ireland. For those who haven’t come across this info during your visit(s) to Midlife Motions yet, I am German and moved to Ireland in 2007.

I was looking for a job at the age of 39 when I was still living in Germany. During an interview with a lady at one of the job-agencies, I was told that we would find something. It would just take a bit longer as I’d be 40 soon. What the heck? Are you kidding me? I still have 27 years ahead of me until retirement and it already is hard to find a job for me. Ridiculous!

My first step to getting started

Now, that making this change has become really important to me I finally shifted gears into action mode.

The first step I took was to search the web looking for options and possibilities.

The only thing that seemed to be clear at that point was that the internet would play a/the major role in getting the kind of independence/flexibility I was looking for. But that was about it.

Since I didn’t have a concrete idea of what I was looking for, I just searched for things like “working from anywhere” “working from home”. Well, I had to start somewhere. All I knew was that it is possible, that there are people out there doing it and so could I if I really put my teeth in it. But how? No clue. At least not at that point.

One thing leads to another

Once you get started it can be a bit like an avalanche in slow motion. All the sudden you start seeing possibilities left and opportunities right. It’s amazing. That too is because our brain is wired that way.

During my searches, I stumbled upon something called “The Paradise Pack”. This is a collection of courses, e-books, downloadables, etc. on how to become location independent and acquire the necessary skills. It is sold once a year for a few days as a package deal at an amazingly low price.

What sold me was that one of the courses it contained was “21 Days to Discover Your Passion”. Perfect. Exactly what I needed to find out what I wanted to do.

Then I figured it out.

Going through this course I decided I was going to start a blog. Considering all the things I had read about it, I’d love it. It would be one way to get my foot into the digital door. Once that’s done I could add to it. Something like an online store and some services which can be delivered via the internet.

No need to have everything figured out just yet.

At this stage, I had no idea what the blog would be about. All I knew was what it would not be. Which does help, as it narrows things down quite a bit. I loved the idea of being able to spend my time helping others and writing about the things I care and am passionate about.

So I started surfing the net for ideas again. This time I was looking for more insight into the ins an outs of blogging.

After a good while and a lot of fun searching and looking for ideas I had an idea of where I wanted to go with this.

I took the next step – making it happen

Knowing myself well enough by now, I got the domain and hosting right away.

I was afraid that if I waited until I had a lot of content for my blog figured out and written, that I might not go through with it. Yep, I can tell you a thing or two about procrastinating too.

Why am I telling you this?

Easy. To show that when you make the decision to stop only thinking about what you would like to do and actually take that tiny first step you will make further progress and see results. 

That’s because when you get started your mind will put in a different filter and you will see things you wouldn’t have noticed before. Ideas will pop up left, right and center. Not every day, no. And surely not all the time. But they will come.

Of course, they’re not all brilliant. But that doesn’t matter. The creative juices are flowing and that’s what’s important.

Now, I am still a good bit away from my goal of location independence. But the important thing is, that I got started, took that first step and am moving in the right direction. At a slow pace, yes, as I am still working full-time sitting in front of a screen 5 days a week. But that’s fine.

Already, I have learned a lot and am a lot closer to my goal than I was a year ago. And that, I can tell you, is an exhilarating feeling. Even more so, if you take the time every now and then to turn around and have a good look at how far you’ve already come.  

What if you can’t finish what you have started?

It’d be a pity, but so be it.

You’d still be miles further than where you were when you still daydreaming about it. And who knows, you will probably be able to continue at a later point.

Say for example you would love to learn a new language and started a course. After one semester or two, your circumstances change and you can’t continue now. Yes, it would be a pity.

However, you would still be able to count, greet people, ask for directions, tell the time, order something in a restaurant or bar, etc…(that’s usually the agenda when learning a language).

By hearing the language a lot while you did the course you also have an ear for it now. And, you would still be miles further ahead than you were before the course started. Back when you were still thinking, “What if I could speak Spanish, German, Italian……(whatever your language of choice would be)?”

And, if I am any indication of how learning a language can go you will stick with it. Even if it means you will be at it for the next 20 years ;-).  

Of course, I will never win a prize for taking so long. But that’s OK. I started something I was interested in and acted upon it. Now, even though I am still not fluent, I do get by, can hold small conversations and love to keep learning.

Don’t stop dreaming but start acting as well.

Because only then do you at least give yourself the chance to make your dreams a reality and reach your goals.

If you don’t, you will always be as far away from them as you are now. And you will keep wondering.

OK, it’s time for you to get started!

Enough theory. Let’s put this into practice.

Get a pen and piece of paper and put your thinking caps on.

Following are three exercises which hopefully make getting started a bit easier for you:

Exercise No. 1  – Figure out what it is you want to do?

If you already know what that is, skip this exercise and go straight to exercise no. 2.

If you don’t, have a brainstorming session with yourself or, maybe with people who are close to you and know you well enough.

Don’t hold back, jot down everything that comes to mind. Nothing is too crazy, too far out there, or too big a goal.

Exercise No. 2  – Write down the reasons why you haven’t taken action about it yet.

What was stopping you?

Be honest with yourself. Otherwise, you’re only cheating yourself out of the time you wasted doing this exercise.

Is it time, or the lack thereof?

Could money be the problem?

By any chance, you believe that you are too (old, heavy, ugly, poor … ) whatever… or not  (good, smart, pretty…..) enough? You fill in the blanks.

Do you regard it as a waste of time?

Are you afraid of failure or even success (yes, that’s a thing)?

Here’s what I have to say about those reasons.

Lack of time:

As busy as you may be, I bet you could put away 15 – 30 Minutes every now and then for something, that brings you closer to your goal. If you watch TV every evening, play Candy Crush or the likes, are commuting on a train or bus, there is no such reason as “I don’t have the time.” You might want to rephrase it into “I don’t want to make the time.”

Money is too tight:

There are loads of free courses or versions of tools available online, i. e. language learning apps, YouTube tutorials on about everything you can think of, etc…… Community colleges, local adult/further education institutions often offer courses at a very affordable rate. There’s always the library. These are only a few options.

Too (old, heavy, ugly, poor … ) whatever… or not  (good, smart, pretty…..) enough:

Skills you might lack can be learned.

And, who put an age limit on learning/starting something new?

Here’s a link for some inspirational examples in case being too old is your reason.

These examples might give you a hint on what is actually possible if you have the can-do attitude.

But beware, they just might make it a tad more difficult to find a convincing excuse next time. 😉

It’s a waste of time?

Well, I guess it was not all that important to you in the first place and I am surprised that you hung around this long.

Unless maybe you wanted to find something that is worth your while in which case I hope you found exercise no. 1 helpful.

Fear of failure:

Are you afraid of all the “what if”s? Are you afraid of the shame in case your endeavor should go south? What would the others think?  

You can already hear your aunt (or the colleague at the office), the one with the sharp tongue, putting you down, telling you that she knew it all along that you don’t have it in you?

Ask yourself this:

What is the reason that this is so important to you? How come you actually let this keep you from doing something you would love to do? What difference does it make, if aunty-sharp-tongue lashes out at you? What does she think she has to offer that puts her up on that high horse? Clearly not her social skills.

Maybe you don’t want to disappoint someone close to you if things don’t work out even though you’ve given it your best shot.  Would that person really be disappointed? Is that who he/she is? Or are you not giving him/her enough credit?

Exercise No. 3  – Figure out what your goal is

Now it’s time to plan your own personal success story, big or small.

Setting a clear goal – this is important to keep you on track – find out more on this by following this link.

Shut up the inner saboteur I mentioned before – when our brain is trying its darndest to get in our way in order to keep us where we are, safe and sound, nothing changed. Sometimes this inner saboteur is called inner roadblock or even gremlin, in case you read about it someplace else. We all get a visit from it every now and then, no matter how far up the success ladder we have climbed. The difference is that once you are aware of them, know the nature of it, you can handle it and shut it up fairly quickly…… until its next visit. It gets easier with time.

Create an action plan – like the goal, this is important to keep you on track and to measure your progress.

Celebrate your success – Do you really need an explanation for this?

So, what’s it gonna be? What will You get started with?

I’m really interested and am looking forward to your answers in the comments section.

Whatever it will be, remember to (just) get started!!!!!

Have a fantastic day!

Rena XX

So, what’s it gonna be? What will You get started with?