I don’t know your answer to those questions. Maybe you don’t either. But your options are nearly unlimited. Or rather, they are only limited by one thing: you.
What do you want?
The first step in anything is having a plan. Choose something as your goal. Weight loss. New career. Launch a podcast. Walk the Pacific Crest Trail. Anything. Find a goal, something that you are passionate over, and make a specific goal statement. Picture what success looks like. Write your goal–on paper–and attach it somewhere you will see it frequently. Be as specific as specific as possible. Set a deadline, for all goals except weight loss. Our bodies are frequent obstinant about losing weight. Focus on the end weight, not a due date, and you will have less frustration.
The next step is take action which moves you toward the goal. Right now. Don’t wait. Tomorrow will not be any better than today. Just act. Will it be the right action? I don’t know. Neither do you, until you try. If you want to lose weight, maybe that means downloading a calorie-counting app (like LoseIt, which I use.) Start using it. If you find success, great! If after a few weeks of consistent use, you find it unhelpful, try something else. Nothing will happen until you do something!
You may decide to get more active. I wear my Fitbit to help keep me moving. But you need to 1) wear it, and 2) keep moving to get any benefit!
I have a friend who stated in November 2013 that he would launch his podcast in one year. To date, he still is chasing ideas for his podcast. As he puts it, “When you chase two rabbits, you don’t catch any.” Now, that isn’t a terrible thing, but until he know what he really wants, he will continue to chase those rabbits.
Deepak Chopra put it nicely when he said “No solution can ever be found by running in three different directions.”
Do you want a new career? What do you love doing? That isn’t necessarily what you enjoy as a hobby, but what makes you feel completed? I homebrew beer. For a few years, I actively considered creating my own brewpub (brewery and restaurant) because I make really good beer, I am a good chef, and I love servin people my food and beer. But the more I looked at it, the more I realized that while I love brewing and cooking for myself, my family and my friends, doing it every day, on a demanding schedule would not make me happy. Look into classes at your local community college. Maybe you can test your resolve by taking a class in accounting (if you want to become an accountant) or welding (if that is your plan.)
Side note: here in Northeastern Wisconsin, we can’t seem to find enough skilled welders. The college that I teach offers welding programs that are always filled. A good job, if you like that type of work, might be waiting for you in Wisconsin.
Do you want to start a podcast, blog or write a book? Well, guess what? Those don’t magically appear. They all involve writing and a significant committment of time and energy. And they all take consistent effort. That is similar to students who buy a textbook but rarely–or never–open it, and then wonder why their test scores are low.
Find a resource, sit down and take action. To learn how to podcast, go to Meron Bareket’s Podcast Starter Kit. Starting a blog is easy when you follow Leslie Samuel’s “Become a Blogger” plan. Jeff Goins is an awesome author and his blog “Goins, Writer” helps new authors get their start.
So, you have a plan and you took your first steps. Are you having any success? You need to always evaluate your progress. Maybe not daily, but weekly or monthly is a good timeline for assessment. Sit down at the same time each week, and look at your metrics. How many pounds did you lose? How many days did you eat within your budget? How many words per day did you write, or how many interviews did you record and edit? Is that answer what you need to reach your goal? If yes, stick with it. If not, consider small changes to maximize your chances of success. Maybe find a mentor, face to face or vitual to help provide accountability. That is what I do for my weight management clients.
When should you do this?
Right now. What will be accomplished by waiting? Even if you say that you need to wait until tomorrow for that flight to Tibet, you can still take action today to prepare for it. Act now. It is the only time that you now you will have.