4 Steps To Finally Get What You Want

An idea will remain just that unless you take action

When I left my job, I didn’t have my next steps figured out yet. I prepared by building up a savings fund to cover my expenses for several months, but I had no step-by-step plan laid out.

It was both a really scary and very exciting time in life, where the main (and often only) agenda on my table was to indulge in my curiosities and pursue hobbies I’d long struggled to find time for.

There was so much that was up in the air and truthfully, I loved it! I was so excited about everything I could do, and I felt that the possibilities were endless. I had idea after another after another! I would literally spend hours writing, braindumping, mind mapping, creating lists — trying to get all my thoughts down on paper. After feeling so unfulfilled, this was such a wonderful time for me. I felt so free and so in control of my life, my career, and my future.

Not long after that though, I quickly realised that having a list of ideas isn’t that amazing if you don’t actually do anything with them.

Ideas really aren’t worth anything if they aren’t put to action.

Ideas are intangible.

They’re untested.

They’re theories.

They don’t show people anything.

(Except that you’ve got an idea!)

Having an idea is just the first step. Execution is everything.

But I know that’s easier said than done. It’s not always easy. If you’re anything like me -

• You’re probably an over-thinker and research things to death before you actually do anything.
• You think you NEED to know everything before you make a decision.
• You weigh things out, debate, strategize and just THINK about things far longer than it should take.
• You’re always stuck in planning mode because the plan never looks to be ‘just perfect’.
• You’re waiting for the RIGHT time to make a move.

But you’ll never feel 100% ready. You’ll never feel like everything is perfect and that it’s finally the right time. You’ll always feel a little nervous, a little scared, a little anxious. And that’s okay. That’s normal — ask anyone.

The truth is, gathering all this information and expanding your knowledge is a waste time of time if you don’t then implement any of it. (Trust me, I know.)

Yes it can be scary, yes there are so many unknowns, and yes it could all go completely wrong. You don’t have to ignore that possibility or even pretend that those feelings and fears don’t exist. By all means — acknowledge them and work through them. The main thing though is that you take action despite the fear. Don’t let it keep you stuck.

Because execution, whilst a little scary, can also be amazing. It can open the door to so much for you, and it can be all you ever dreamed of.

But you’ll never know either way unless you give it a go.

I bet the entire time you’ve been reading this you’ve had something (maybe a few?) on your mind. Something you’ve been thinking about but haven’t quite gotten around to doing just yet.

So, here’s what we can all do -

4 WAYS TO TAKE YOU FROM PLANNING TO EXECUTION:

#1 — Break your goal down into bite-sized, easily executable daily tasks.

For example, if your big goal is to save up $4,000 in 1 year, what is that on a monthly, weekly, daily basis? Approximately- $333/month or $77/week or $11/day. So look at what you can do to save $11 a day. Perhaps you can: make a pack lunch every weekday, switch to generic brands, walk the half hour to work instead of getting a taxi or bus, bring your own coffee, cancel subscriptions that you don’t use, and so on.

The point here is to focus on the very achievable daily goal rather than on the bigger end-of-the-year goal, so you don’t feel overwhelmed.

Top tip — Set a daily goal you know you can achieve if you stretched yourself a little. Don’t set yourself up for failure by setting an impossible (or dangerous) goal.

#2 — Track your progress and review regularly.

Keep track on how you’re doing, whether that’s through spreadsheets or simply writing things down on a sheet of paper. Whatever method you choose, try and do it regularly — perhaps weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.

Remember — what you focus on, grows.

Top tip — Use your phone to track your progress. There are a ton of apps at your fingertips. My favourites include Google Sheets (for spreadsheets) and Evernote (for text documents). Both free!

#3 — Get an accountability buddy.

We human beings are social creatures and regardless of whether we identify as an introvert or extrovert, we like having people around who are like us. That’s where an accountability buddy comes in. You’ll have someone you can relate to and who’ll also be focused on achieving their goals (even if their goals are completely different to yours). It’s that shared experience of setting goals, taking action and staying committed that really matters.

So where can you find yourself an accountability buddy?

• Friends and family
• In-person accountability groups
• Online communities (Forums and Facebook Groups)

#4 — I’m going to take a page out of Nike’s book here and say, “Just do it.” Just. Do. It.

You can umm and ahh as much and as long as you want but it all comes down to you actually doing something.

Maybe it’s sticking to a daily budget so you reach your savings goal, or drinking more water daily, or writing a blog post every single day, or going for a walk at lunch so you hit your 10,000 steps a day.

Some days it’s going to be easy, fun even, but other days it’s probably going to be really challenging. And it’s on those days that you want to remind yourself of your long-term goal — the bigger picture.

Top tip — Do one thing, no matter how small, every single day that’ll get you closer to achieving your long-term goal. If you need to begin with walking 10 minutes a day, do that. If you need to begin with writing 150-word blog posts, do that. Do this consistently and you’ll begin seeing significant results over several days, weeks, and months.

So there you go, a bunch of different ways you can begin taking yourself out of planning mode (you’ve been there long enough!) and into execution / implementation / action mode (whatever you want to call it)!

You just need to take the first step. Because you won’t get anywhere by standing still.