When you are DOING… it’s hard to be Doubting

I will be like a raindrop that washes away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger; the star which brightens the earth…small attempts repeated will complete any undertaking – Og Mandino

That’s the power of persistence. Hacking away at the tree with an axe until it falls. Doing a little bit every day. Taking one small action that will draw you closer to completing a much bigger project.

The hardest part though is always THE START. Idea generation is wonderful. Transforming those gems into their physical equivalent takes effort and persistence.

The longer we take to start – the more we doubt ourselves. We over-think things to the point of talking ourselves out of “the doing” of those things. And many times those things we’re choosing to put off are the doors through which our lives will begin to change for the better. Except we stare at the door instead of picking ourselves up and walking confidently through it.

The ONLY way that we’re going to gain confidence is by doing. Craig Ballantyne says:

When I was twenty years old it was tough to stay committed. I made my fair share of mistakes. But I kept on trying. I experimented. I tested variables. I recorded results. I learned what worked and what didn’t. I discovered the importance of preparing ahead to make the right choices and I discovered ways to deal with those that did not support me.

The simplest way that I’ve found so far to get started is the 10 minute hack described by David Kadavy.

Each day, after I wake up, as soon as is possible – before eating, before showering, before checking email, (but not before meditating) – I pick one task, set my iPhone timer for 10 minutes, and work on that one thing non-stop.

He elaborates…

How much work can you possibly get done within 10 minutes? A surprising amount, really, but that’s not the point.

The point is, you get started.

Sometimes, the 10 minutes seems like an eternity. I’m just waiting for it to end so I can eat something or go to the gym.

But often – actually, usually – I don’t stop after 10 minutes. 10 minutes turns into 45 minutes, an hour – two hours – of non-stop work on one project.

Jackie Nagel, President of Synnovatia shares some great advice here, on getting more done plus you can also download her daily goal planner here where you will learn to:

properly plan and prioritize each day
focus on action and activities directly linked to your goals
shift from working “in” your business to working “on” your business

I am using a mash up of several of these approaches that I have customized to suit me. I usually start off by writing in long hand my definite purpose. I have a ritual that involves reading particular texts etc each morning and I’ve incorporated Jackie’s method by writing out my long and short term goals and the “next” step needed to move closer to each one on that particular day.

I’m still not satisfied with my method but like Craig says, you must experiment until you find what works for you and as Og Mandino says “I will consider each day’s effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself, may be trifling and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. SO it will be with my efforts of today.”