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Have you ever had a call that someone was going to drop by your home or office unexpectedly? Were you amazed how quickly you could find the energy to clean up your space, spruce up your hair, and appear as if you've been productive and on the ball for hours? Have you ever wondered why you can't motivate yourself to get the same results without an impending crisis?
One of the most powerful ways to create your the life you dream of is by being able to create your own internal sense of urgency, without the need for an external source.
What would be a good time for you to implement a good idea? An idea that could very well change your life for the better? That's a simple answer isn't it? Right now! Today!
All of us know this is true. But getting up off the couch can seem like climbing Mount Everest.
In my experience, getting started is much more difficult than keeping the momentum. So anything I can do to make the “getting started” part less painful, is a huge step toward progress.
One thing I try to do every day is to spend a while reading scriptures and meditating. When I do it, it gives me a sense of calm and perspective that tends to make the rest of the day better. But in a world full of commitments and scheduled events—and often urgent needs—finding time for this important, but far less urgent action is difficult.
I overcame this hurdle when a religious leader made the “getting started” part much easier for me. In a meeting, while speaking about scriptures study, he said, “I challenge each of you to read your scriptures for 15 seconds each day.”
At first, I thought he misspoke. But he did not. And after a double take or two, everyone in attendance chuckled. The wisdom in his words did not hit me until later. If I knew that I only “had” to read my scriptures for 15 seconds a day, it was much easier to get started, and helped for a number of reasons.
I could rarely honestly say I didn't have a spare 15 seconds, so I almost always read something.
Realizing that I only needed to block out 15 seconds meant that I didn't procrastinate getting started, because it wasn't a huge commitment.
Almost each time I read, I read longer (and benefitted more), because I really did have some spare time that would otherwise have been used less wisely.
If I was enormously swamped, and actually read only 15 seconds (just a verse or two), I still had a small benefit, felt I had accomplished a goal, and had a more positive attitude toward scriptures study…rather than a guilt-ridden one.
Forward movement on our goals won't happen unless we make the decision to take action. Get started on the path to success today by learning to give yourself a sense of urgency and finding ways to get over the hurdle of getting started.
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Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.