Stop Thinking It's Such a Big Deal.

Stop overthinking and stalling your growth.

A pretty successful entrepreneur I had the pleasure of meeting told me the cure to a thinking problem is action.

Turns out he was right.

After constantly imagining, thinking, and overthinking everything I've wanted to do, I've finally learned how to start doing.

It was an uphill battle, but as the saying goes, better late than never.

I used to always overthink things, making them a huge deal, and eventually ended up talking myself out of starting that idea I had in my head.

Eventually, I also grew tired of letting myself down and not following through.

Now that I know a little better, I wanted to share some ideas to help you get started and stop thinking that taking action toward your goals is a big deal.

Because it really isn't.

Think about the first step.

Not the big picture.

One way to easily talk yourself out of doing anything is by imagining the big picture.

You'll overwhelm yourself with everything you think you need to do right now to get started.

The reality is you only need to take the first step. Then, the second, third, and fourth, and so on.

When I first came across Medium, I was intimidated. I saw all these writers with thousands of followers and thought, 'Wow, they must have some sort of talent or secret to doing this that I could never figure out.'

I made the idea of writing online such a huge deal that I stalled publishing my first piece for months.

The wonderful thing about Medium and its writers is the transparency.

Many writers I encountered shared the obstacles they faced on their journeys and the lessons they learned.

This encouraged me and made me realize that nothing would ever happen if I didn't start writing.

Which leads to my next point.

Pick ONE THING to start with.

Try the least intimidating thing first.

Writing seemed very intimidating when I first came across it.

But, after seeing all the different works on Medium, I realized my writing would not be some godawful piece that would be rejected and I'd be banned from publishing ever again.

Once I talked myself into doing the thing, I focused on one thing only — hitting the publish button.

That was it. If I did that, if I dared to start and share my thoughts with the world, I would have won that first battle.

And I did. And it was also very underwhelming.

Nothing bad happened. All these scenarios I made up about my writing being awful and criticized didn't happen.

Instead, I got the courage and inspiration to write another blog.

When you do start, however, I highly recommend doing this:

Don't tell anyone about it.

Sometimes, people, even with good intentions, will talk you out of moving forward.

Almost two years ago, I was offered an opportunity to learn how to bartend.

At the time, I didn't know it, but learning this skill would eventually allow me to move out, keep a roof over my head, food in my stomach, meet my savings and investment goals, and so much more.

One of the first things I did was share the news with a family member I was close with at the time.

I thought that person would be thrilled for me.

Instead, they told me how they thought I wouldn't be good at it.

It was a huge letdown.

Sure, bartending was very out of my comfort zone in those days. I had not done anything similar to it (unless you count my stint at a sandwich shop during my sophomore year of college).

But I was willing to learn, and I thought that’s what mattered most.

Despite that person's opinion, I chose to move forward with the opportunity.

And I'm very thankful I did because shortly after that, many events unfolded, leading to me becoming independent and moving out on my own for the first time.

Moral of the story — if you're excited about an idea or an opportunity that comes your way, do not share it right away, even with people you think will be happy for you.

'Cause, like I said, sometimes, even if the people closest to you have good intentions, they could talk you out of making the decision to move forward.

Surround yourself with information/content that inspires you.

It will fuel your fire.

This is a good follow-up for when you choose what that first step is for you.

Do this even before you've taken your first step.

As I mentioned earlier, I read many, many blogs on Medium before publishing my first one.

This constant exposure to encouraging, motivating, and inspiring content led me to bet on myself and see myself as a writer.

Yes, I am an amateur, but I'm still a writer. The 240 blogs I've published prove that.

And the hundreds if not thousands of claps, comments, and over 350 followers also prove that I'm doing something worthwhile.

Cater to yourself and your ideas. Tailor your social media to give you ideas and inspiration so you can fuel your fire rather than stifle it.

This is a mindset lesson I had to learn.

Rather than thinking because someone did something similar to what you want to do, you shouldn't try, believe that your doing it would be a little different, and there's an audience that probably prefers the way you do it.

When I come across content from successful writers and creators, rather than thinking, 'Why should I waste time doing something that's already been done,' I think, 'Let me see how I can put my own twist on this since I had a similar experience.'

Don't talk yourself out of your ideas. Talk yourself into doing them.

Keep showing up, even when you fall off the wagon.

I had grand expectations for my welcome into the world of writing.

Oh, how I was severely let down. But not discouraged enough to not try again.

I kept showing up. Despite not going viral like I hoped I would, I still kept writing.

I wasn't consistent for the first year, but I still saw some form of results that encouraged me to keep going.

The first year I started writing, I took a month off from publishing.

I felt I had run out of ideas, and I also didn't want to push myself to a point where I was frustrated and annoyed at writing, so I took whatever time off I needed.

When I came back, it wasn't roses and rainbows, but I came back to writing, and that's what mattered most.

In the second year, I got a little bit more serious. I started building momentum and discipline.

I learned to keep showing up despite not seeing the results I wanted or no results at all.

These past two months, I've changed the game for myself, and now, I'm excited to see what the future holds for me on this platform and on whatever platform I choose to use in the future.

I chose to show up again and again and again.

Now, here we are, two years later, and I'm the most consistent I've ever been.

Persistence is the name of the game when pursuing anything entrepreneurial-related.

As long as you don't give up, you'll find a way to keep moving forward and inching yourself closer to accomplishing your goals.

You'll stop thinking it's all such a big deal — it really isn’t.