The Art of Starting: For Ambitious But Lazy People

People who are ambitious but lazy are not actually lazy.

Successful people, unlike you have learnt the skill of starting

They have realize that starting is the hardest part of doing anything.

Why?

Inertia — your laziness is baked into physics.

Still bodies have the tendency to remain still.

Moving bodies have the tendency to remain moving.

That's the secret — build momentum in the direction you want.

High achievers understand the two places where inertia is highest.

1. At the project level

2. At the task level

You're not lazy — you lack confidence

Most people get paralyzed into inaction when they are on the brink of massive change.

What do you have to believe in when you haven't generated the evidence to show yourself you can take an idea to execution.

"Confidence is ove rrated — generate evidence" says Ryan Holiday.

Confidence comes from having an undeniable stack of proof to show yourself who you are.

That's the difference between you and the person who starts easily.

You remain in the know because that's safe.

You failed to realize, the fastest way to stay where you are is to start tomorrow.

The person who steps into the unknown easily does so because they have taken those steps many times before.

When you step into the unknown so many times, you understand even if it doesn't work out the way you thought — I will be ok.

That's true confidence.

The most confident people in the room are not the ones with blind faith in their ability but instead the ones with clear belief in their resiliency.

The reason why you haven't:

• Hit the gym

• Started the side hustle

• Changed careers

• Moved cities

• Taken that trip

• Went back to school

• Asked that girl out

• Had that hard conversation

is because somewhere deep inside of you — you believe one mistake will take you out.

How absurd?

You're here, aren't you? You have a perfect track record. Look at the evidence you do have. Believe in yourself more.

Stop the overthinking.

No more:

• I do not know if I will stick with it

• I might hate it

• I might waste time or money

• Now might not be the right time

Yes — it might be a mistake.

Good make more mistakes. They provide the best information you can receive.

Have more conviction.

That uncertainty and indecision in your actions creates space between you and starting.

Rumination leaves space for justification

Fucking send it, as I would say.

You're not lazy — you're distracted

The hardest part of starting a new project is starting.

The second hardest part is starting every day.

"Every day is day zero" says Jeff Bezos

So true.

No matter how much i achieved yesterday some momentum is lost overnight.

Intensity is needed each morning.

But you cannot direct intensity into one thing if that one thing isn't clear.

If you don't know what exactly you need to do to move the project forward, you will be vulnerable to distractions.

If it's not your phone, it's cleaning your apartment, busy work like replying to emails, or pretending to be productive.

Clarity is essential.

The most important task first thing in the morning is a philosophy I love.

I am not the same person at night as I am in the morning.

The vibe is different.

Plan in the evenings, execute in the mornings is a useful framework I use.

Focus on one project at a time. Measure the success of the day by the most important task.

If the project is to get more attractive to girls, then today was successful if you hit the gym.

If the project is to grow a YouTube channel, then scripting 2 hours before work is the measure of a successful day.

This concept of a perfect day is another distraction holding you back from effective execution.

Learn the skill of starting

If you want to get better at bench pressing — you need to bench press

If you want to get better at writing — you need to write.

If you want to get better at starting — you need to start.

Simple but often overlooked.

Create the habit.

Make a habit of noticing ideas when they appear and execute them quickly.

For us overthinkers, being a little bit more impulsive is a good thing.

You need to realize that purpose is created, not found. All projects start off as ideas. Only after pouring effort into them does it truly become a project you deeply care about.

When you notice the thought, "I think I want to start going to the gym," sign up for a membership the next day.

When you notice the thought i think I want to start Muay Thai — ” go to the next available class.

When you see that cute girl in the cafe, and you think, "I think I want to talk to her — go first, say hi"

Use the 4-minute rule for everyday tasks. If it takes less than four minutes, do it now. It strengthens your anterior mid-cingulate cortex and improves your will power.

James Clear says

Make starting a part of your identity. Be the guy who starts now.

Create the plan

Starting something new, stepping into the unknown, and making that change can be overwhelming.

It's natural to feel that way.

You want to be challenged but not so much out of your depth that you feel like you are drowning.

When I feel overwhelmed, planning is my best friend.

I plan the series of small steps I need to take, when I need to take them, and where I need to go. Doing this helps me create clarity.

Afterwards, the big problem feels a lot smaller.

I felt overwhelmed when I had the thought of starting the gym. I knew nothing.

So, I planned it into small steps:

• I need to find a gym near me I can afford.

• I need to find a workout routine, so I'm not looking lost in there.

• I need to commit to a time and day to go.

Going to the gym may seem like a small and simple problem, but for me, it was a big problem at the time.

You need to meet yourself where you are, and as you develop, you will naturally take on more challenging projects.

Create the environment

I love personal responsibility.

I take responsibility for everything happening in my life. "Extreme ownership" Jocko would say.

When things go wrong or when I am not performing the way I would like, my default is to look at myself and ask, "What am I doing wrong?"

Sometimes, a better question to ask is, "What is wrong with my environment?"

A simple change in your environment can solve your problems. There's nothing wrong with you, but you keep putting yourself in environments where making bad decisions is easy.

People, items, routines, and locations are all elements of your environment.

Look at your environment — what's making it difficult to start the things you want.

• Having a messy and disorganized kitchen will make eating out more tempting.

• Putting your desk directly in front of a large east-facing window increases the resistance to writing in the morning once the sun rises in the sky.

• Having your phone on your at all times poses a risk of distractions at all times

• Interacting with friends who do anything but encourage you to start and do the thing is holding you back.

Set up the environment to make starting easy.

Set up the environment to make doing the things enjoyable

Set up the environment to feel good about yourself afterwards.

Lower the friction at every step.

Starting is hard — the unknown is scary.

Don't install a self limiting belief like laziness. Change the way you think about the problems.

Create the habits, create the plan, create the environment and you will be just fine.

Enjoy the rest of your day

Josh