“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

Chinese Proverb

I love to run. Not with the goal of improving, going fast or winning, I just find the very action of running exhilarating. This summer I didn’t make the time for it as much as I wanted to, and as the days slipped by, it seemed farther and farther away… and bigger and bigger in my mind. The truth is that what we want to do is always at our fingertips. We just have to start.

So, early one morning I put on my shoes, walked outside and slowly began to run. Not fast, with no distance in mind. I felt sluggish. One step at a time. Before long I was back at it, not as far or fast as I was before, but I had started. The hardest part was over.

Is there something you are procrastinating about? Does it seem to get bigger in your mind, and take up more thought time than the actual activity would? Then start now, however small. You have to start where ever you are. You cannot start in the future as it will still be now. No matter how big the mountain seems, whether it is paperwork, exercise, a phonecall, a project, the first step is all you can ever take, The rest is in your mind.

Research shows we overestimate the time it will take to complete tasks we procrastinate about and I have found this to be true.

It doesn’t have to be perfect, pretty or great. Just put on your shoes and start… one step at a time. Not one day longer to think about it. Let me know in the comments below what you are stepping into today. What have you got to lose? 

Have a great week,

Madeleine