The Little Push That Could
The Little Push That Could (Or how to start to begin)
Suggested Song Pairing Push it by Salt-N-Pepa
There it was, sleek and pleasing to the eye. After months of nail-biting tweaking, my website was finally launched (tip: done is better than perfect). All I had to do was add a blog section to infuse it with my personality and thoughts on all things wonderful linked to lifelong learning, but then it happened…
A.k.a nothing happened. For nine months. We know how much can happen in nine months…
I managed to artfully dodge my commitment to getting thoughts on paper and sharing content with an audience.
I had read countless posts on blogging and writing “how to, what to, not to, why to, when to” all providing invaluable information and advice, but I continued to squirm and sit on my hands, waiting for divine inspiration, until I discovered the little push that could.
Rather than start with the big idea of what to write about, I identified my accountability partner first and started writing after I had locked her into her new role.
This is what I did;
I set a deadline with marvelous Kera (accountability wing woman) I then submitted my draft of whatever topic I was researching, no matter what shape it was in. She would kindly review, comment and cheer me on. It was extremely helpful to be in conversation with someone who knew my goals and voice. I made some tweaks and filed it ready for posting. I wrote another post, she reviewed, cheered me on. Repeat. Simple enough yet so powerful.
Knowing that Kera was expecting my drafts on a given day gave me that little push. She was not there to judge but to keep me focused on sharing content and to be a buffer between me and my circling inner critic(s).
The Association for Talent Development (ATD) ran a study on accountability and found that you have a 65% chance of completing your goal if you commit to someone. If you have the opportunity to meet them in person, that increases your chance of success by up to 95%? Who would turn that down? Having Kera in my corner kept me on my tippy toes and am quite tall as it is! The benefits of this accountability approach are endless:
A guaranteed cheerleader in your corner; someone to encourage you; comment on your first piece, rejoice with you; share your victories with others; keep you motivated and on track.
If you have a project, idea, goal, vision in mind, something you want to get started, try this three fold approach;
Identify a cheerleader/wingperson, someone who is rooting for you, and book your first accountability appointment, ideally in person.
Explore the “what” of what you want by immersing yourself in the great outdoors. Nothing says inspiration like a “Walk on the wild side” (cue Lou Reed). A study by Stanford researchers found that walking improves creative inspiration by an average of 60%.
Use your accountability appointment as a gauge to take small steps every day toward your goal. Carve time daily for your project, dream, goal. There is no other magic formula than making space (even if only 5 mins a day) to let things come to being.
You most certainly do not, nor should you have it all figured out before you start anything you are looking to experience, your accountability partner can attest to that.
Let this be the little push that could…get you to the start of your next adventure.
Joyfully Yours
