The First Step
Today is an anniversary of sorts for me. Three years ago today,
I publicly launched Tomorrow's Edge after years of getting
ready, talking about how I was someday going to do it, and
researching everything but advertising! It was a huge first step
in the middle of a bunch of first steps that I had taken up to
that point. Naturally, it fell flat on it's face because of my
lack of education in the marketing area. So, here I am three
years later, better educated, dusted off, boot straps pulled up,
repeating that first step. I take a deep breath, psyche myself
up, wiggle my toes a bit, bend my knee, lift my foot, and sit
back down with another cup of coffee.... Maybe in a minute or so.
Isn't it funny how that first step gets to us? I'm not even
scared this time. Heck, I wasn't scared last time. It's the only
career I've ever really wanted with any kind of passion and
fire. Why is it we choke up when taking first steps towards
those really big goals that we love so dearly? Ever notice that
when it's something you don't give a rip about, the freeze never
happens? We freeze up when taking that first step towards
something special, because now we have something of importance
to fail at. It's not the goal we're afraid of, it's the failing
that scares us.
The key here is to start. So many people speak of a journey
starting with a single step. It's true. However, even if you
have quit and are picking it back up again, at least the first
step this time is farther along then the last time you started.
For some of us, every single step towards success is so
terrifying that it is a first step. Every step along the way
towards our goal is a challenge. Keep in mind that each step is
closer than the last one was. If you could do yesterday's first
step then surely you can do today's first step because it is
farther down the path. If you stop and look back over your
shoulder, you'll see that you've actually come quite a bit
further than you'd realized. You will feel a greater sense of
progress than you did yesterday.
It really doesn't matter who you are or what you are trying to
accomplish or who might not approve or what your current
standing in the community is or anything else. What matters is
that you get past the inner dialog that tells you those things
do matter. No excuses are really valid. Our excuses are our
first steps. "I do not have the capitol to start a business."
Then my first step is to get the capitol, rather than shelf the
whole idea. "I do not know the first thing about building a
house." Then my first step is to get training. "I do not know
how to read music." Then my first step is to take a class. Make
your excuses your first steps and watch your pride grow.
Remember to analyze each of those excuses like any other fear
and make sure they are valid and worth becoming a step on your
journey. It would be easy to get off track by taking care of
your excuses instead of
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taking care of your dream. The point is
to start taking action towards the life you have envisioned for
yourself. "How is my attitude? Am I in charge or is my fear?"
What if you're scared to death of your next step and you want to
step away from that fear? You just want a quiet moment to
breathe without the fear. Did you step forward to breathe or did
you step backwards? Did you sidestep? Remember this when
stepping away from fear. Is the step away from fear also away
from your dream? Is the step away from fear bringing you closer
to your dream?
So many of us have been taught to dive in headfirst and attack
our goals like we are some sort of mighty warrior gone to
battle. We run full steam ahead without wisdom to temper our
actions. This will usually cause problems later. Occasionally, I
will get so excited about charging in to face my fears, that I
will become almost manic in my attempt to push forward to the
end. This almost always messes me up. I have learned to stop and
relish the moment, say thanks for the opportunity to conquer
fear, and then when I have calmed back down, I can continue
making plans.
It really does help to pace ourselves so that we have the
staying power to complete a long involved project. Too often we
knock ourselves out trying to force it too fast and then we drop
off exhausted. It does not feel good to continue at that pace
and we will often quit rather than reevaluate our timetables and
slow down. Creating the dream can be as fulfilling as seeing the
end results. Do not cheat yourself out of the positive feelings
that come from overcoming fear and doubt by racing through too
fast.
So, here I sit with my thoughts remembering all the times I've
failed at this. You know what's funny, in retrospect each event
that appeared to be a failure was actually an amazing learning
tool. I hate learning things that way!! Seriously though, I
never really failed, I just became more and more educated,
tempered, stronger, more self-confident, more defined, more
focused, more streamlined, more global, more spiritual, more
patient, and more harmonious with how it was all supposed to
play out. I can see now why I had to go through those other
first steps so that I could be here today in this moment taking
this step. It's all exactly the way it should be. An infinite
wisdom must have been at work somewhere behind the scenes.
'Thank you.' I'm ready now.
This article was adapted from a segment of Beyond the
Inner-Critic by Skye Thomas, copyright 2003.
About the author:
Skye Thomas is the CEO of Tomorrow's Edge, an Internet leader in
inspiring leaps of faith. To read more of her articles, free
previews of her books, and her astrology forecasts, go to
www.TomorrowsEdge.net. Webmasters interested in generating more
repeat traffic to their websites are invited to visit
www.TomorrowsEdge.net/horoscopes-generate-website-traffic.html.
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