We approach a road construction sign that reads “Right Lane closed ahead, Merge Left”.
Do we merge immediately, gradually, or do you wait until the last possible moment?
When we merge at the last moment we cause a bottleneck and it backs up traffic.
When we merge immediately we may miss cars in our blind spots.
Of course, when we merge gradually neither of these things tends to happen. We are cautious early on to avoid hitting other cars and since we are already in the new lane we can be focused on the road and the “late mergers” that merge in late.
This is how we might think of approaching our projects.
Although we might be nervous, fearful, hesitant or otherwise we must get into a new lane. Taking the gradual approach is the best way to ensure consistency and longevity with your endeavor. If we go too quick we might not have thought through a few of the first steps and therefore we get sidetracked and quit. We also can’t hesitate or procrastinate to start in the first place because we know other life events will get in the way and throw a monkey wrench into our best-laid plans.
So then it’s best to find the middle ground.
Start slow, but always start. Give yourself a chance at getting into a new lane and then focus on the task ahead and see where it takes you. We don’t always know what the road ahead will hold but we can at least be assured that we are on the right path to living our most fulfilling life.