Getting Started
They do say that the first step is always the hardest, don’t they? And they say that the first step has to be the decision?
I’m sorry to say it but that’s pretty much the truth.
If you want to change yourself, or do anything at all really, you can read all the books and articles you want but nothing will happen if you never start. It probably seems way too hard at first, or it might be you think you may want to change but you’re not sure yet. That’s what happened to me, anyway.
Somewhere in my logical mind I knew that if I wanted to get anything done I would have to turn my life around, almost completely. I’d have to start paying attention in class, actually work on moving out of my parents’ house instead of just thinking about it, I’d have to spend time actually doing useful things instead of just gaming.
I can tell you I was actually physically revolted at the thought of giving this up!
I am not entirely sure when or how I made the decision, but I know it was actually before I started reading up on the subject. In one week I went to several job interviews, cleaned out my room, signed up for what passes for a housing project around here, and it was a fair start. (I still do a good amount of gaming, though, I just have other activities mixed in.)
I think that to really make this decision to change, you need to realise that you have a problem. I only realised after writing that, that it’s the AA motto. I suppose they’re right, then.
Can you picture your ideal self in the future?
Where would you like to be in a year? What kind of person are you then, what are you doing, what have you achieved? How much money are you making? Are you happy?
How about in five years? Ten? What do you want for yourself?
There is no way in the world that you don’t deserve every last bit of that. And there is no way that it’s somehow not possible for you to have it.
Now take a look at your present life. Your job, your relationships, your habits… your life. Can you picture what your life will look like a year from now if you continue this way? How about in five years? What does it look like?
Does it match with the future you imagined before?
If it does, you either have low expectations or you’re on the right track.
If it doesn’t, what’s stopping you from starting to work on that ideal future?
I’ll give you a hint: you are. Not your boss, not society, not your shitty luck. If you want your situation to change, all you have to do is change it. More on that in later articles, though.
-Mel