First Step - Starting a New Habit

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

"千里之行, 始于足下"  - 老子

An overused quote, but also a ground truth. Many times we will see inspiration but take no action. Let me throw in another overused saying: "It is easier said than done." Sure we can understand deep proverbs and cry with an inspirational talk, but turning wishes into action is a universal struggle we share. 

We can get a clearer picture of our goals and get better results by:

• Setting a long term goal
• Making ourselves accountable to progress

Picture by Gabriel White.

It takes 500 tries to learn how to mount a unicycle. 

A few years ago I started to learn how to ride a unicycle. The actual ride was a lot easier than mounting, or getting on, the unicycle at the beginning. It takes about 500 tries to "learn" how to mount a unicycle efficiently. 

This simple example applies to many other activities. Doing things over and over again until it becomes muscle memory. Repeating over and over until we can make our speech in our sleep. Practice until we can use memory to overcome situational nervousness. 

Picture by Francesco Zuccolo.

One step does not take us far. 

Metaphorically, after the first step, everything will get better, everything will come together. While it may be true that getting started is a hurdle, getting started does not complete a goal. Every day, there are many variables floating around that can destroy our schedule, our mindset, and our progress. 

One step is good. However, more than one step is necessary to accomplish anything worthwhile. We can start to run exercise for a day, but when we are hit with unexpected chores, not following up on the exercise will defeat the plan of becoming healthier. 

Plan and prepare for multiple steps. 

I previously tried "Block Life" and wrote it about in one of my blog posts. I realized that keeping track of my time every 10 minutes gives me the extra push to work harder. The day I tried Block Life was the most productive day of my summer. However, since then, I made no progress whatsoever. I stopped trying as hard; I started taking naps during the day, I started sleeping late and waking up early. I started to do things just for fun. I started to avoid work. 

My ultimate productivity plan never worked, because I lost my drive, my motivation early.

Why?

When I was practicing riding my unicycle, my goal was to learn to mount independently and efficiently. I had in mind that 500 tries are necessary to achieve my goal, so when I was practicing, I was motivated by a bigger picture. 

Set a goal for a week. 

Instead of "running 3 miles", set the goal to "running 3 miles a day for a week." Then, the process of fulfilling the goal will give a little extra motivation and satisfaction. 

Find social accountability. 

Take advantage of what we hate and make social expectations help us! A short anecdote: I once made a deal with a friend that if I finish reading 3 chapters in a book, I will watch the video my friend suggested. And guess what? I read with more concentration than ever, and I finished ahead of time. 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but the journey is still a thousand miles! 

Don't give up. Set yourself up for a larger task at the beginning. Start it and follow through by keeping yourself accountable to progress.