Easily Does It

Imagine what it would be like to try and write a 200,000 word novel in a day. Picture your self waking up tomorrow and running a marathon. Maybe you have decided that today is the day to audition for ‘La Traviata’ even though you’ve never sung a note?

No matter what we do, it’s impossible to achieve anything outside our perceived boundaries without taking some time to build skills, confidence and even a routine. Every novelist knows that no matter how many ideas you have, irrespective of how well formed the characters are as they scratch at the inside of your head for a chance to live, in the moment we sit down and stare at the blank piece of paper on which the new world will be born – there is silence.

The fact is, the mind does not deal well with huge projects. In the moment we commit, our mind builds barriers, the doubting self-talk starts and for most of us the dream goes no further.

The way a novelist would get around this would be to split the 200,000 words in to easily manageable slices. Perhaps the writer commits to spend a certain amount of time at his desk writing. Maybe the agreement is in the number of words – maybe 2000 a day. Either way, as all successful novelists will tell you – the idea of sitting down and then writing until the project is finished is laughable.

People are capable of incredible things and in need of a good story; the press will often target people who have seemingly done the impossible. One famous example is Sylvester Stallone writing his debut ‘Rocky’ in a weekend. The rest is history. Now, I don’t know how true this is, I happen to think that when inspiration strikes it is feasible that we can create some incredible things. But this is a rare exception and when you look at the rest of his career; not one he has repeated.

This tactic makes sense on all major changes. If the athlete wants to run a marathon he trains, he runs a little further, a little further. When a singer wants to improve, they rehearse, they listen and of course they sing. In both cases they warm up and they realise that in order to become masters at what they enjoy; they must prepare.

When you decide to make a major change – e.g. to exercise more – rather than setting goal weights or calories to burn, simply split the year into quarters. Take where you are and in the first three months start to introduce the changes in your life. If you have no exercise routine then there is no point in joining the most expensive gym in the area or deciding to run ten miles a morning – it will not happen – if you don’t believe me then watch how many people go to the gym in January and then compare it with June. I suspect that health centres and gyms make more money from members who never use the facilities than any one else!

Use the first three months to introduce the new habit – and allow for occasional slip-ups. Take the time to respect that you are making changes and that they are permanent when we take time to allow them to grow. It’s understandable that as soon as we make a positive decision we want to jump on it, to act it immediately to its fullest potential, but gradual steps will make sure you actually reach your goal rather than collapsing in a self-hating heap less than half the way through.

Be Free. Be Happy. Be You.