To do … or not to do

“If I write it down, then I’ll definitely do it.”

I have often thought this when writing my infamous to do list. It’s a wide-ranging and often dubious reminder of what I’m not doing or avoiding.

Paint fence
Power wash the drive.

Even the more basic things find a way of appearing
Post letter
Go to bank

It got to the point where I considered having a to-do list for existing
Get up
Brush Teeth

I often laughed at my inability to live without a list.

However, I began to notice the comfort of what putting things in future (without actually doing the vast majority of it) was bringing me. Why write about doing something, feel better and then do nothing? Surely the point is to take action!?

I started to go further. If I was procrastinating about the small things, what about bigger things? How much of my ambition and career focus was I putting into the mythical future? When I did sit and think about what I wanted to achieve, it sometimes felt overwhelming. The truth is there can be a disconnect between want and belief. We know what we’d like to do, but we put barriers in the way, and potential what if’s.

It’s similar to when people want to go travelling. ‘What if we get stuck?’ What if we run out of money? Probably best if I don’t go. What we miss is that the ‘what if’s’ are what makes the journey worthwhile. What we learn about ourselves and the confidence we gain are invaluable. It’s important to remember that the journey is more important than the end goal. However, the journey only begins when we take action and put ourselves in a position to fail.

I’ve stopped writing things down, and instead I’ve got a clear goal of what I want to achieve. I set a time frame and focus my energy into the small individual steps needed to get there.

Which reminds me, I need to paint the fence.

I just need to find the brush…

If this sounds familiar, drop me an email. I’d love to help you.

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