There is Magic in Action.

Action can be a very powerful tool for success if you start small and keep at it.  You begin by taking small steps, but you take them. There comes a point when you have you have done enough analysis and research and must do something.  You can’t read about push ups and get stronger.  You must do them. You can’t read about eating well and lose weight.  You must eat the right foods.  You can’t read about investing and retirement accounts and expect to get rich, you have must open the accounts and put money in them. 

Once you start you will build muscle memory for the task. Each day it will become easier and you will get results. You will build courage and see that the task is not as hard as you thought, plus if you break it down into small actionable steps, you can achieve a much larger goal. 

Start Small

Maybe you start with 1 push up per day, or a 5-minute walk, if you want to get fit.  Before you know it, you have lost a few pounds and have more energy.  Maybe you start by making one healthy meal per day if you would like to lose weight.  Before you know it, your clothes fit better, and you enjoy home cooked meals more.  Maybe you start with $100 a week into your investment account if you want to save for your retirement goal.  Before you know it, you have saved a nice amount of money and it begins to grow more quickly from the money you put into it and from its own investment growth.

Use Momentum

The point is to start and continue.  You will build momentum and every day it will get easier.  Starting is almost always the most difficult part of anything you want to accomplish.  The Space Shuttle is an extreme example of this.  On takeoff, it uses almost all its fuel to liftoff and clear earth’s atmosphere.  For the rest of the flight, fuel consumption drops down to very little because of momentum.  This is how we feel when we start something new.  It requires all our fuel (willpower or discipline) to start but once we are moving, it gets a little bit easier every day.

This is also how you learn.  You may find that you don’t like doing pushups, but you feel better if you go for a 15-minute walk at lunch before you eat.  You may find that you barely notice $100 coming off your pay and you increase it to $200 so that you reach your retirement goal earlier.  As you learn and grow you can make changes to your actions as well; and if you have made a mistake you can usually correct it early enough that little harm will be done.

This is the magic of action: the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Go for it.