One Day or Day One

I’m tired of putting things off, I’m tired of saying what if, and I’m tired of waiting for the right time. Nothing changes if nothing changes. We need to take control of the things we want in our lives and create it for ourselves. These things don’t happen overnight, in fact, they take a long time and often come without much visible progress, but starting the pursuit is the only way to begin taking steps forward.

Think of a plant. It starts as a seed and stretches out to try to find some sunlight. Our ideas, goals, and dreams are the same. They need to start somewhere. Everything grows from an origin and moves and morphs into what it’s meant to be. 

So let’s get our mentality right.  Is it one day, or day one?  

The One Day mentality is passive. It’s also theoretical and immaterial. One day, I will lose 15 pounds. One day, I will stop smoking. You already hear the doubt and complacency in that self-talk, and if you talk like that you can’t expect anything to happen.  It’s just delaying the introspection, effort, or vulnerability of what you want to do.

But, with the Day One mentality, It starts now. Want to lose 15 pounds? Start a nutrition journal and sign up for a fitness class. Want to quit smoking? Tap into some resources and get on a plan. It is an action-oriented mentality that serves as the foundation of the life-change you are looking to make. It’s answering the call to the challenge you see in front of yourself and, at the very least, giving it a try. Yes, failure is a real possibility, but you can’t succeed without giving it a shot.

As we know, consistent action is the key to habit formation, and making a change to your life is no different. It can’t happen one day, it has to start now.