Hurdles | Sighs and Hallelujahs

1Jan/120

Go!

New Year's - a time of reflection on the past year, but in a way that usually compels us to look at the year ahead and set our sights on what we hope for in the next rotation around the sun.

Why, then, do so many resolutions end after months, weeks or even days? I'm sure there are many reason psychologists could offer us. Lord knows we all tend to have great plans -- yet very few of us carry them out.

For me, one of the biggest barriers to carrying out a plan is that I never get past the planning stage. In other words, I never get started. I've got all these brilliant plans and I want to do the groundwork that I can to ensure a smooth path into the foreseeable future. Like a sprinter crouched down in the blocks visualizing the hurdles ahead and measuring each step in my mind -- yet, I don't even flinch when the starting gun goes off.

"I'll go when I'm ready," I tell myself. "I just want to make sure it's all clear how it will work and that my form will look good."

Bogus. Running that type of race gets me nowhere -- and I see another New Year's pass by.

So this year I decided that when the starter's gun blasted for 2012, I was going to stumble clumsily out of the gate. Heck, I may even wipe out the first couple hurdles. At least I'll be making progress, though.

Not making progress is a barrier for many of us, it seems. And, taking the initiative and risking is something we all must push through says Seth Godin in a blog post titled The chance of a lifetime:

[W]e have more than an opportunity -- we have an obligation. An obligation to spend our time doing great things. To find ideas that matter and to share them. To push ourselves and the people around us to demonstrate gratitude, insight, and inspiration. To take risks and to make the world better by being amazing.

Making the world a better place to be will take risks. Anyone who's started a business, a charity or movement will tell you of the hurdles they faced as they ran the race. Many will even tell you of several hurdles they failed to clear. The difference between them and those of us that only dream? They ran.

What are we waiting for? Let's go!