The beauty of the beginning: Why success is best achieved in small chunks
There are more than enough reasons one could bring up as to why it’s difficult to accomplish, well, anything. The fear of the unknown, acclimation to new roles, learning curves, failure — the list is endless.
As valid as these difficulties may be, they all disappear if and when we learn to appreciate small beginnings. Success becomes far more attainable when broken down into small chunks at a time.
Often times when we have a vision the final product occupies the majority of our attention. While it’s good to have an idea of where you’re headed, without the proper perspective it can be overwhelming when in contrast to where you currently are.
Whether it’s a job you want, a degree you’re in school for or a business you’re growing, if you remain fixed on the final product, the early stages will frustrate you. Suddenly the grind of your current job becomes a bit more difficult, those classes feel unnecessary and the struggles of startup culture become draining.
However, when we’re active about our gratitude and intentional about finding the beauty in the beginnings, the big picture comes together along the way.
When going after something you’ve never gotten before you’re not going to fully understand everything it takes to obtain it. That’s why there has to be a nuanced balance of humility and bravery when embarking on an ambition — you’re not going to know what to do at some points and you’re going to need to weather those storms.
We have to be as willing to stumble and learn as we are willing to win and succeed. We have to understand that it is all a part of the journey. And taking the process one stage at a time helps us to see this.
Appreciating small beginnings and taking success in chunks not only enables us to pace ourselves for the marathon that is greatness, but it allows us to stop and smell the flowers at the same time.
There are nuggets of wisdom littered on the surface of those initial ground levels. It’s when they’re mastered when we’ll know how best to build out future visions.
Resourcefulness
When you’ve made up your mind up that you’re going to handle what’s in front of you at a time and you’ve taken full responsibility of everything within your reach, resourcefulness will be a trait you’ll find that you naturally acquire.
There’s so much that can be done in the now with what you have this very second that’s overlooked when our eyes wander too far ahead.
We despise small beginning because we don’t see any immediate value, but when we’re at peace with the where we start, we allow ourselves to be open to the limitless amount of knowledge and fundamentals that lie before us.
Once we’ve accepted that our journey is a process, we’ll find ourselves willing to work for free, be more patient, and most importantly, we’ll be grateful for every progress ahead, no matter how small.
The instantaneous nature of our culture, where information runs a thousand miles a minute and where social media shows you the end results rather than the humble beginnings, leads us to believe that success is supposed to just happen for us.
We don’t think we’re supposed to wait for anything and we get upset when our path doesn’t model the path of the next guys’. But we combat this culture when we relish the beginning instead of despising and dismissing it.
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That’s why we should buy into the gameplan we set out for ourselves, double down on it, and wait for the outcome.
When you appreciate the beginnings, you no longer wait for handouts — your expectations aren’t fixed on what you feel entitled to. Instead, you take care of what you can with what you can. And that’s what it’s all about.
Act, learn, repeat
There are countless people out there who are sitting on their hands, not venturing out on their ambitious, just because they feel like they aren’t ready or that they aren’t good enough.
There are people will million dollar ideas and who could potentially be the next biggest star, but instead hinder themselves because they don’t know “where to start.”
Let me be the first to tell you: This is counterintuitive behavior.
No matter the profession, endeavor or how ambitious the dream, if we’re afraid to fail, we’ll never leave our front stoop. We cannot let the size of our dream intimidate us. Life is about action, learning and then doing it all over again.
You’d be surprised at the amount of pressure you take off yourself when you go ahead and factor failure into the equation. All it takes is that first step; everything after is the learning curve. But we will never know what to learn unless we first fail.
When we focus more on doing rather than doing correctly we’ll find ourselves building familiarity with what the journey takes. It’s when we fear and aren’t accepting of the beginning stages when we’re robbed of the opportunity to learn these valuable lessons.
Instead of wanting a quick fix, a fast level up, or to skip the steps you think you deserve to skip, embrace the climb. We’ll be more appreciative of the end product and we’ll have gathered a wealth of wisdom that we’d be otherwise privy to.
If you’ve ever lied on an application to get a job then, after being hired, found yourself not having the know-how to complete responsibilities or if you’ve seen someone promoted far before they were ready, then you can relate: there are lessons to be learned at the bottom. Don’t be one who misses out.
When we break down our mammoth ambitions down to small achievable goals at a time, we’re less likely to quit. Don’t be afraid to pursue that dream because of it’s towering stature.
Devise a way to make that dream manageable in daily doses and take pride in every small victory and you’ll be a winner in no time.