Episode 783 When Do you Start
[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: [00:00:00] Thanks for joining me on episode 783 of the inspired stewardship podcast. I'm Patrick Antonucci from dad hackers, and I challenge you to become the man that you were called and created to be one way to be inspired to do this is to listen to this show. The inspired stewardship podcast with my friend Scott Mader.
[00:00:34] you can begin to start. And when is the right time to start? It's always 20 years ago. If you could start then, but if you couldn't start in the past, which most of us can't, if you haven't started already, then today is always the right time to start. Welcome and thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship podcasts.
[00:00:58] If you truly desire [00:01:00] to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent and your treasures for your true calling in the inspired stewardship podcast, who will learn to invest in yourself. Invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world
[00:01:28] in today's episode about investing in others. By stewarding your time. I talk with you about when is the perfect time to start anything. I also share why, despite what you're going to feel, there's always resistance to getting started. And I also talk with you about a few tips on how you can get started despite feeling that resistance.
[00:01:50] As we talk about stewarding your time. Wouldn't it be great. If you could support this podcast and do it without just taking too long, it turns out you can't. All you have to [00:02:00] do is use inspired stewardship.com/amazon. When you're ready to make a purchase via Amazon and a small commission will come back to support the show.
[00:02:08] Just that quick. If you enjoy the show, when you are ready to buy from Amazon, just use inspired stewardship.com/amazon. One of the biggest barriers to success and to productivity. Is it really a lack of money? It's usually not even a lack of time. It's not
[00:02:30] a
[00:02:30] Scott Maderer: [00:02:30] lack of any sort of research or knowledge or skill that you don't have.
[00:02:36] Typically the single biggest obstacle standing between us and our success and our productive productivity is simply getting started. The first law of motion by sir, Isaac Newton says that bodies at rest tend to stay at rest there. There's more to it. But that's the part that is interesting because when we [00:03:00] think about it, that's what happens to us too.
[00:03:03] It takes a certain amount of energy. It takes a certain amount of effort to overcome the inertia of not getting started. And now I'm sure you've had situations in your life where you didn't have any problem getting started. Maybe your boss or somebody who you really care about said, if you don't get this done by this day.
[00:03:25] There's going to be massive consequences. Maybe you'd be fired. You wouldn't get the contract. Maybe your spouse or your significant other would be upset with you, whatever it is. Maybe you even set the fire under your own tail end. Maybe you said, I'm not going to bed tonight until I finish X, Y, Z.
[00:03:44] Those sorts of things that sort of motivation by deadline does work. But. It's usually not the best long term strategy. And it usually begins to cause problems for us over the long [00:04:00] term. Instead, usually if we can find something, we want set a goal and connect it to two things, a good reason why we want it finding a why and emotional connection and some small action that we can take.
[00:04:18] Now, something with a very minimal cost, because the truth is at the end of the day, why don't we get started? Sometimes it's habit. Sometimes it's because we don't have something that we need to do to get it done. Sometimes it's because we perceive that the cost, the effort is too high. It's not worth getting started because it's going to take me too long.
[00:04:43] And sometimes it's because we're lying to ourselves and we say, it's something we want, but we really haven't connected it to a good, emotional reason. We don't really. Want it that bad after all, maybe we're doing it because we think someone else wants us to do it. Not actually, because [00:05:00] we want to do it that last, one's not all that common, but it does happen instead.
[00:05:06] Usually we are either in the habit of not taking action. Or we see the action is too hard, too risky, too costly, too difficult. And we need to reduce that risk to a level that we can manage. That means we need to downsize the task to something that is much easier to get started with. You can brainstorm what are all the ways I can make progress on this goal.
[00:05:37] If it's losing weight. I could exercise more. I could change my diet. How could I change my diet? How could I exercise more and brainstorm possibilities if it's finding a new job? You can reach out to your friends and family. You can cold call people. You can just begin to apply online. All of these are possibilities, but generate as many ideas [00:06:00] as possible.
[00:06:01] And it may take you some time. It may take a little bit of effort and by the way, you've now already started. You've already begun to take action, which helps fight against that habit of inaction, because the truth is when you get in the habit of taking action, it gets to be easier. Maybe then you keep trying, maybe you talk to some friends or family and help them and get them to help you identify some small steps.
[00:06:28] And then when you identify one small step that has the lowest cost, you begin to implement it. You begin to actually take action on that small step. Now here's the truth, no matter what, you're always going to have resistance to take action. The truth is that inertia, that feeling of staying at rest is neurochemically it's wired into us.
[00:06:57] It's part of what causes sometimes actual [00:07:00] psychological concerns like depression and other things that we need more mental health help with, but it also creates this resistance that just is going to occur. Naturally. It creates a negative. Emotion. And that is wired into us. It's a real thing. This is one of the reasons that we almost all fight some level of procrastination.
[00:07:28] Now, sometimes we procrastinate by being busy, doing things that aren't really the things that move the needle. That aren't really the things that we should be doing. So you can actually procrastinate by doing things. You can be busy instead of productive. But the truth is you need to know that you're going to have resistance.
[00:07:47] That's actually an acronym to know K N O w know that the resistance is going to happen, recognize that it's going to happen no matter what. I've actually named that mental [00:08:00] voice, that feeling of resistance. Mine is Harry. You've heard me talk about him before on the show and then notice it. Recognize it set step out of your own brain and acknowledge that this resistance has shown up, create a little space between you and the resistance, open yourselves up to how it feels.
[00:08:20] Does it feel a certain way in your body? Does it feel a certain way? Maybe it makes your stomach tighten. What is it that it makes you feel both emotionally and physically, and then last one, w if you want to have fun with it can be whack. It. That means actually try to knock it down. Welcome. It is another way of saying, recognize it and acknowledge it and feel it and welcome the fact that it's there realize the resistance is there to try to protect us, to try to protect us from harm.
[00:08:54] It's not a bad thing we're trying to procrastinate so that we don't do something [00:09:00] risky. But if you've identified that it's really not something risky, then as you acknowledge that resistance, as you feel it, you can go ahead and take action anyway, and then you can begin to start. And when is the right time to start?
[00:09:18]It's always 20 years ago. If you could start then, but if you couldn't start in the past, which most of us can't, if you haven't started already. Then today is always the right time to start. Thanks for listening.
[00:09:39] thanks so much for listening to the inspired stewardship podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you liked this episode on the stewardship of time, be sure to [00:10:00] sign up for our stewardship of time tips series by going to inspired stewardship.com/time or texting four four, two, two, two time tips, and that'll get you our best tips on stewarding your time.
[00:10:22] Until next time, invest your time, your talent and your treasures. Develop your influence and impact the world.