#tdo-017

In my experience, I've far too often set goals toward an ideal future, only to find them being met short by irrational excuses of why they won't be achievable. There's often a sense of over analysis, where time is wasted thinking about why goals will be difficult instead of using that time to see what happens.

I recently pondered what was preventing me from committing to these goals and I concluded that the act of starting was the most difficult part. Once started, goals were usually much easier than in contemplation -- where putting the pencil to paper was often more difficult than the actual writing that followed.

I was setting new goals with a close friend the other day and decided to try something new to break this pattern of not following through. Instead of setting the achievable, but semi-difficult, long-term goals, I decided to set super easy goals that were in their easiest and most minimal form.

These are the goals I set this week --

NUTRITION ~ Eat one piece of lettuce ~ Eat one piece of fruit each day EXERCISE ~ Take 1 step outside each day ~ Do 1 push-up each day ~ Do 1 sit-up each day WRITING ~ Journal 1 letter each day

CREATIVITY // DESIGN ~ Draw 1 picture each day ( --> . counts! ) ~ Code 1 line each day ~ Design 1 concept each day

Then I tried it and was surprised to see it working. Each goal was so trivially easy that the opportunity to overachieve the real goal was much easier. I found myself eating healthier meals, getting outside to exercise, designing new content, and reading books (which I hardly ever do ).

They sound ridiculous on paper, but they're undeniably achievable, which removes the barrier to entry. There's no longer time to ponder if they should be done or not. By the time the thought is had, they're already started and finished.