The Best Moment is the Present
In our heads, we have many ideas, plans, and dreams waiting to be realized. But too often we wait - for a better moment, for motivation, for another Monday. We say what we would like to do, we plan, we tell how it will be… and nothing comes of it. Until we take action, our words have no power. Even the smallest step is worth more than the most beautiful declarations. If you really want to change something - start now. Not tomorrow. Not later, because motivation comes and goes, and consistent action is the only way to get there. The greatest power will always be the present, because it is made up of the smaller steps that prove to you that you are capable of achieving something. By doing so, the future can change.
If you are letting go, giving up, or getting discouraged, you are probably focusing too much on a specific goal and not on what you will need to do to achieve it. What stages you will have to go through, what you will have to invest in, what you will have to change in your current life, what of being, and routine to succeed. Looking at what will be “at the end,” you will probably feel overwhelmed. It will be unrealistic for you to achieve, abstract that you could do it or own it. Why? Because you haven't taken a step in that direction yet, everything is distant, unknown, and difficult.
What if you try to write out the whole path ahead of you - the points you need to meet, the points you need to reach in making it happen? This can certainly change in the process; however, at least you will know where to start. Each of these points will require you to work, to be determined, and to be ambitious. Along the way, you will lose or replace many things you already know and have. But at each of these points, you will gain more and more knowledge and experience. Knowledge and experience will make it all real, closer, and accessible to you.
We are used to getting everything right now. We cannot wait any longer, especially since we still have to commit and work while waiting. This makes it so easy for us to give up because the results of our work may not be as impressive as we expect at the very beginning. We want to achieve big successes right away, so we quickly get discouraged, instead of thinking that this progression is there, but first, we started doing it, and secondly, this progression may be visible at least in our ways of thinking. If we assume we will not succeed, we definitely will not. If we assume we will succeed and do everything we can to make that happen, why would we fail?
We will have to give something of ourselves to get what we want. Nevertheless, we are under the mistaken impression that we have to spend several hours every day on a chosen thing to “make it count.” If it is physical activity, we need to do demanding workouts every day. If it is physical activity, we need to do demanding workouts every day. If we want to read more, we need to read at least one thick book a week. If we want to write, we need to sit down and write a whole chapter.
This is not true; the most important thing is consistency. “A little” is better than nothing, because it teaches us discipline. Go for a long walk, read ten pages, write a paragraph, and that will be enough. Because each of these steps, which seems small to you, in the end still brings you closer to your goal. And you can consider each of them your success, even if, in your thinking, you did not do “as much as you could or should have.” You are still closer than you were.
Consistency is important because we need to make it a habit to pursue our goal. It is like that with everything: we do many things without even thinking. We spend hours scrolling through social media and do not even realize that time is flying by, because it is something we do every day and do not analyze. It takes time for an activity to become a habit. If we keep putting something off for later, for tomorrow, for next week, for a better time, it will not become our habit. Something that should be our priority, because that is what we need to change or do in ourselves, is not, in reality.
When I set a goal for myself, I try not to let two days in a row go by without doing what I had planned. If I have the time and space to do something and, in the evening, realize I did not do it, the next day I make sure it does not happen again. I asked several people about this, and after thinking about it, they confirmed that when they do not do something they wanted to start for two days, it is harder for them to go back to it later. We ignored this potential good habit for two days, so this third one no longer seems to make a difference.
Besides, I surround myself with content and people who motivate me and share a similar approach. I believe that who we have next to us, who we listen to, watch, follow, etc, greatly affects us and our mindset. When it comes to the internet, it is about creators who show the development of their passion, maintain consistent good habits, and have an approach you would like to adopt. Sometimes when I cannot sit down to write, I watch people who talk about writing their book, poems, stories, they show the creative process, I watch the interviews with my favorite writers and it is such an extraordinary dose of something magical for me that I immediately want to write something of my own, that I want to feel what they feel when they are getting closer to their goal, when they publish it. As for friends, it is a more complex topic because they are real people in your life.
It is not as simple as turning on a YouTube video. On the other hand, it is much easier to surround yourself with people who want to reach a certain point in their lives and are taking the next steps to achieve what they want. Your destinations do not have to be the same. Everyone has their own path; the important thing is to move forward.
When I have an idea in my head, I just grab it, because I already know that there will be no better moment. The best moment is the present.
With love,
Kierstyn
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