How to Take That Scary First Step! | Jack Canfield

Hi there, I'm Jack Canfield, and today I'd like to speak to everyone out there who's currently standing on the precipice of their next big evolution in life, but are hesitating to take that scary first step into the unknown. I know it can be hard to move beyond your comfort zone, but the results are always worth it. And so today I'd like to share some tips on how to take the first step on your journey toward achieving your biggest dreams and creating a life that truly fulfills you. As you can imagine, in my line of work I meet a lot of people who have big hopes and dreams for their lives. And I've helped a lot of people get super clear on what they want their lives to look like. And I've shown them how to create a detailed plan that will take them from where they are currently to where they want to be in their lives. And as they create their vision for the future and gain valuable clarity into what their lives could easily look like, I see how excited they get at the possibilities and, and the idea of how incredible their lives will become once they do the work required to bring their vision to life. But when they get back home, there's always a certain number of people who take zero action on their plan and end up remaining stuck right where they are. As you can imagine, this is very upsetting because I know they have what it takes to achieve any goal they can imagine and make their most ambitious dreams a reality. All they have to do is believe in themselves and take action. And this is where they fail. And I don't want this to happen to you. I don't want you to remain stuck where you are when everything you've ever wanted is easily within your reach. And that's why I'm going to tell you how to get unstuck and take that first brave step towards your dreams. Now, my first piece of advice is this. You have to get really clear on what your first step needs to be and then chunk it down into a series of small, small bite sized tasks that are easy to achieve with a single action. Because all too often what people believe is their first step they need to take actually isn't. They identify a first step that's so large and overwhelming they don't know what to do first. And so they get stuck in a state of paralysis because they know they want to achieve that big goal, but they have no idea to go about doing it. For example, maybe you think your first big step to creating the life of your dreams is to get out of debt. And that's a noble goal, but it's not your first step. Getting out of debt is far too large a goal to be accomplished in one single action. It's simply too big. It's much more likely that your first step in this scenario will be to do something like make an appointment with a financial advisor or someone at your bank who can then help you understand everything that needs to happen for you to get out of debt. So you can then make a more informed and detailed plan of attack and add all of the many steps involved in achieving that goal to your monthly calendar. Or maybe you think your first big step is to get a new job. And once again, that step is so big it can be overwhelming to consider. There's so many tasks involved. First you need to update your resume. Then you need to polish it and make sure it does a great job of showcasing your experience and your skill sets. Then you need to research the jobs that are available. You may even want to hire a headhunter to help you find the job that's right for you. Or you may discover that in order to get your dream job, first you need to acquire some new skills, some new expertise. So researching those skills and learning more about how to acquire them might be your first step. Whatever you think your first step is, if you can chunk it down into a series of smaller steps, then guess what? It's not your first step. It might be your first big goal, but it's not your first step. Your first step is that one small action you can take today to bring you just a few inches closer to your goal. Because if you take one small action like that every single day, you will make consistent progress toward your dreams. And once you've chunked down your first big step into much smaller and more achievable tasks, the next thing I recommend you do is to find an accountability partner who can support you in your efforts and hold you accountable to your stated goals. And when you share your intentions with another person and it increases your commitment to achieving them. So before you even take the first step you identified in the chunking down process, you might want to make your first step finding an accountability partner and let that person know what your intended first step is. And I guarantee that when you contact your accountability partner to let them know you've completed that first step, the pride and the satisfaction you feel will spur you on to identify your next step and then achieve that step step as well. And the next thing I recommend you do to ensure that you take that important first step is to commit yourself to making steady and consistent progress rather than trying to attempt rapid progress toward your goals. Too many people fail to achieve their dreams because they try to do too much too fast and it ends up exhausting them and short circuiting their motivations and their progress. There's a reason why Aesop's fable about the tortoise and the hare is still so famous today. That's because it shares an important truth that slow and steady will win the race over overly confident and easily distracted people every time. So once you've chunked down your to do list into small bite sized tasks, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to achieve them. Look at your existing duties and responsibilities and set realistic expectations for yourself. Because setting and achieving a small goal will always make you feel more accomplished and capable than setting and failing to achieve a big goal. Another thing I would encourage you to do is to remember that any step you take toward your goals is probably going to move you further away from your comfort zone. What my colleague Kathleen Seely likes to refer to as your zone of familiarity. What you're familiar with. And that's okay. In fact, it's better than okay. It's wonderful. Because it's only when you move beyond your comfort zone and that you're capable of growth. And if you want to achieve a higher level of success, growth is essential. Now, I know this can be scary for you. Doing something that's unfamiliar or uncomfortable always is. But I encourage you to experience your fear and take action anyway. Because it will only be uncomfortable and scary the first couple of times you do it. And with experience comes familiarity and with familiarity comes confidence. So taking that scary first step and actually surviving it will prove to you that you have what it takes to take risks and succeed at them. And finally, my last piece of advice is to have faith in yourself and the universe that if you take a risk and make that first step, things will work out as they should, because they always do, even if it's hard for you to see it at the time. Even if you fail, you'll gain valuable knowledge that will help you once again move forward more effectively to your goals. And it's much better to fail and gain that valuable knowledge to than it is to never take any risk and remain stuck where you are. So those are a few of my tips on how to move out of the paralysis and take that important first step toward your dreams. Make sure to remember the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu's famous quote, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and with every step you take beyond that first one, the journey will become easier and easier and you'll get closer and closer to your goal. So today what I'd like you to do is identify what that first important step is for you and then share it in the comments below. I'd love to hear what you're committing to achieving in your life. I'd also love it if you'd leave a comment below sharing your biggest takeaway from this video. And if you have any questions about how to achieve success, please let me know and we'll be sure to follow up with you. I want to hear from you and make sure we're helping you overcome your challenges so you can get better results in everything you do. And if you found this video helpful, make sure you like it, share it with a friend who may need it, and subscribe to this channel. For more videos like this one, and for additional tools and videos on how to overcome your obstacles and thrive in life, check out the resource page on jackcampfield.com there's a ton of great free stuff there. And thanks again for watching and have a great day.