Katharina Buczek
So, stop being your own biggest critic and make today “day one.”
Say “Day One,” Not “One Day”
One of my favorite ways to change my own mindset is flipping the idea of “one day.” We have all been guilty of this before: pushing a goal or responsibility off until Monday because, for whatever reason, it feels like the most sensical place to start.
Come Monday, though, life will probably get in the way again. Maybe you had a hectic weekend, or the office is slammed. Perhaps your kids are sick, or you have any number of other responsibilities to tend to.
So, the inevitable happens– Monday becomes Tuesday, and Tuesday becomes Wednesday. Then, once you reach Thursday, it feels unlikely that you will actually get started over the weekend. In turn, you say to yourself, “Okay, this Monday, I will make it happen.” And the cycle continues.
The sole way to break this trend is by cutting out arbitrary days and dates from your game plan. The only time we can control is present, so quit saying to yourself, “one day.”
Instead, draw a line in the sand and decide that today is “day one.”
Taking Incremental Steps
Now that you have swapped your mindset, you are probably still left with one big problem– how to actually start working toward your goals on “day one” and all of the days that follow.
Well, unfortunately, there is no hard and fast answer. The only thing that will be true for everyone’s journey, though, is that small and sustainable steps are key.
If your goal is financially tied, but you can’t make the full investment right now, maybe the first step for pursuing your dream is setting up a savings game plan. No, it doesn’t sound like a step that is filled with sunshine and rainbows. But this will get you one step closer to your goal– and you can have fun along the way.
