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Don’t decorate before you build a house

by | Jan 2, 2015 | Blog Post | 0 comments

Don’t decorate before you build a house
When we first start pursuing our goals, we do it with such motivation and energy behind it. Some of us have a specific plan and have no problems making progress. On the other hand, some of us get caught up in the details or as I call it, we decorate before building a house.
When I work with folks, we begin by building a vision, an ideal image of what they desire. It is from that vision that action items come out.
One of the ways we can sabotage our work is worrying about the small items. Let me give you an example.
Let’s say you are building a house. We create a vision for what that looks like, including the wall color and window accents. Then, you hop onto Pinterest and start dwelling on that wall color for hours before you even have the walls. Before you decorate and put the color on those walls, you first have to have a foundation and have those walls.

Worry about the wall color once you get there. It is nice to plan and envision but if that is taking you away from what needs to get done first, then you are self-sabotaging. The foundation will most likely not get built on time. You become one of those people that has been building a house for 10 years. Sounds familiar?
Let me give you another example.
Did you ever decide to get in shape? Story goes like this: you buy the best workout gear and best tennis shoes and you look great. Months later, you find that you are still sitting at home admiring your workout gear. See, you spent more time shopping for that workout gear and preparing than actually doing it.
Start with bare bones of what needs to get done and then worry about the details later. You will find that once the house is built, you might not need those window accents after all.
Worrying about the details is a way to procrastinate and it is a subconscious excuse about not pursing your goals. Check in with your self, simply and get the main things done.
In the end, the only thing that will matter is whether you did it. Details have a way of working themselves out.
One more thing: it will help if you share your goals with someone so that you have a sense of accountability. Research shows that you will be 33% more successful in accomplishing your goals. Secret: that is why coaching works so well:)

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