Think easy, think doable

Many of the dumbbells were placed in the wrong spot on the weight rack this morning: the 30s were where the 40s should be; the 25s were where the 50s should be.

It was utter chaos — so much so that, on the surface it seems like an overwhelming problem to solve.

Despite how it seems, and physical effort aside, it’s actually a straight forward problem that can be solved in 3 steps: you start by picking up the dumbbells in the wrong spot, locate where they should be, replace the dumbbells racked there with the correct ones and repeat.

Eventually order is restored.

Somehow when the problem is broken down this way, it becomes much more approachable.

Similarly, when we’re dealing with large-scale projects, the wrong question to ask is: “How am I going to get all of this done?”

Really, the more practical question is: “What’s an easy, first step for me to take?”

I heard a great piece of advice the other day: “the magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.”

The more you condition yourself to focus on the immediate steps you can take, the easier it will be to take them, the less you’ll need to avoid the problem, the more you’ll make contact with this magic.