Will you ever be ready? …I mean really ready. So often we stop short of doing some things or making certain changes in our lives just because we don’t feel ready. Sound familiar? It’s the bane of the perfectionist’s life.
I love doing things right but what if I never do them? Seth Godin talked about the popular metaphor, get your ducks in a row, in a podcast I heard recently. He recommends not to wait to get all your ducks in a row but to rather focus on what you are going to do with a duck and then get started even if you only start with one duck. LOL! (This did make me laugh.)
One example of how this has played in my personal life on a small-scale is with my fitness. It’s been said, our days are our lives in miniature.
I have a fitness plan and some video routines I like to use with resistance training. I like it because I’m a visual person and I like to see my body grow. Ha! I work out 3 times a week and I’m getting results I am very happy with.
My ducks in a row trick is, when my workout time comes, I put on my gear and I start the video. The first thing in the video is the warm-up, so it’s perfect. Sure, there are things I need to do to get set up but it’s the starting that gets me rolling and everything flows from there.
If wait to start, so I can go get my record sheets out, pull my weights out from under the bed, adjust the weights for my first routine, and so on, I end up procrastinating and wasting a lot of time. The whole workout becomes more of a drudgery. But, this way I’m up and running right away with the warm up and the other ducks fall in a row.
Focus not on the one hundred things that you will or may have to do at some future time but on the one thing that you can do now.”
(Read The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle)
I think Seth’s point is about not getting stuck in analysis paralysis. It’s true in business as well as in life.
You may have heard of one of Napoleon Hills instructions in Think and Grow Rich:
Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.”
After reading that, one of our readers recently asked:
“Whether you are ready or not? – Couldn’t that lead to a poorly executed plan and thus not such good results?”
My answer is, “Possibly but not likely”. I feel the bigger issue here is that so often we fail to attempt, because we don’t have all our ducks in a row. At best we spin our wheels, needlessly, waiting for ideal circumstances.
Here are 4 things to consider the next time your trying to get your ducks in a row.
- Get the information you need, make your plan, and get into positive action. Don’t be lured into analysis paralysis. [Tweet this!]
- Focus on one thing now. Don’t scatter your attention across to many things you will or may have to do some time down the line. [Tweet this!]
- Take action. Don’t be fooled by procrastination disguised as preparation. [Tweet this!]
- Do, succeed or fail, learn, repeat. Don’t fear failure. [Tweet this!]
[reminder]In which area of your life do you tend to over-prepare and/or get stuck waiting for things to be just right? How could changing this habit change the results you are getting?[/reminder]
