Every day I walk into my garage and am greeted by miscellaneous piles of superfluous belongings that remind me I have yet to begin cleaning it. I grab a sparkling water out of the fridge, step over a few cardboard boxes, and walk back inside telling myself, "I'll get to that soon."
How naive a statement. My garage is a constant reminder that soon is the enemy of start.
It's not just limited to the act of organizing a garage. Unfortunately, this principle applies to every aspect of our life. We'll start saving for our new car soon. We'll start working out soon. We'll start reading more soon.
Soon is a trap meant to reassure present you that future you will soon come around and all of a sudden find motivation start.
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says this about starting:
“It's rarely doing the work that is hard, it's starting the work. Once you begin, it's often less painful to continue working. This is why—in the beginning—it is often more important to build the habit of getting started than it is to worry about whether or not you are doing enough.”
We may read 50 books in a year. We may never have $20,000 in our savings account. We may never complete 75 Hard. But we definitely won't if we don't start.
So we better start soon.
Action
The next time you think "soon," take one step to actually start.
Question
What have you been waiting to start soon?
Quote
"If you set your bar at 'amazing,' it’s awfully difficult to start." - Seth Godin