The Goal Achievement Podcast, hosted by Matt East, is all about helping you find clarity, design a plan, and most importantly achieve your goals.

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The Weight Of Not Starting

Podcast Transcription

Hey guys, it's Matt. Hope you're all doing really well. 

On today's episode, we're going to talk about removing that weight that you feel that you lug around with you because you're not taking action on that big project, that big book, that big podcast, that big, that business you want to launch. And there's that weight you feel that from not taking action, we're going to talk about that feeling, you know, we're going to talk about how you can relieve that feeling on today's episode. So let's get right into it. 

The big question we all face every morning is this: How can we focus more time on the projects, activities, and relationships that are most important and meaningful to us and less time on the stuff that doesn't matter so we can actually move closer to our goals and dreams? 

That is the question, and this podcast is the answer. My name is Matt East and welcome to the Goal Achievement podcast. I'm so glad you're here, now let's dig in. 

Hey guys, it's Matt. I hope you're all doing really well. I, it's early in the morning here, it's Friday. What is it? May 7th and I just was thinking about something, a concept, and I wanted to share it with you, it's something I've been thinking a ton about recently. 

So, you know, I work with a ton of people, a ton of clients who want to launch something like a book or a podcast or a business, and they will tell me like, that they wanted to do this, like some of them have wanted to do it for a long time, like years, like they have this book that's been percolating in their head for years or a podcast or, or business and it feels like really like weighty or that's not a great word, is it, like it just feels like super like, cumbersome to them, like they want to do this, but they're not taking action on it, and it just feels it's like exhausting to them that few of them have used that word and I've experienced this, too so I can, that weighty is kind of how I would describe it to myself, but I realize that isn't a great word to explain this. 

But anyway, so, like, you want to launch something, you want to do something, you want to move forward on a project and you're not taking action and you're feeling this like weird, like regret slash like, I don't know, wait, slash like just it just feels like a lot of guilt too, like you felt this guilt that you haven't started, at least that's how I... I have felt when I have lacked like launching projects in the past like I wish I would have launched. 

There's nothing that I've started that I wish I didn't basically start sooner like I should have started the podcast sooner, I should have wrote my book sooner, I should have started my business sooner, like all of that stuff I wish I did sooner and I should have like it felt it felt weighty prior and, and I should have just done it like instead of thinking about I should have just taken action and done it. 

So I want to just share that, like a lot of people don't start because writing that book or starting a podcast or starting a business or whatever that your big thing is like, it takes a lot of work and it takes a like grinding and it takes some hustle and it's going to be a hassle, and it's there's a lot to it. 

So all those things are, all your fears are real: Like it is going to take time, it is going to be a grind, it is going to take a lot of effort and energy and intentionality and focus and all those things, all of that stuff is true. 

But, but it's not like not starting, it is just effortless and is painless, like not starting, it feels weighty and you feel like crap because you haven't started it and you have this nugget of an idea that, that needs to be executed on and you're not so it just feels like super weighty and you just feels like something's kind of like hovering over you in a weird way because you're not taking action on this thing. 

So my point is: Doing the thing, doing the project, doing the business, the podcast, the book, like it's going to take effort, it's going to be hard, it's going to be a hustle to do it, it's going to be a pain in your butt, it's going to be harder than you expect, it's going to take more time than you expect, all those things, those are all true. 

But not taking action isn't the answer, like, that sucks too, like that's going to that's going to feel, you're going to feel the same way forever, it's not going to go away until you actually appease it and kick off the project and start making some progress. 

So I hope this helps someone, help someone out there who's like been on the fence for years about something and it like feels like a lot of weight on their shoulders, and it's just kind of a cumbersome thing in their life, and they need a nudge. 

So the only way to get rid of that is to like, one kill the idea and say, hey, it's never I'm never going to do this and this isn't happening, so you stop, and I don't even know if that would work. 

But the real option is you frickin write the book. You've had it in your head for two years or three years or five years or ten years, like write the damn book, start the, start the business and start the podcast, whatever that thing is, that feels like it's kind of a burden to you that you haven't started it and maybe it's time to start it to, to relieve that pressure, and that's a good word, it's like kind of a pressure that you feel that you don't know why you feel it. 

So that's it, that's it. 

The point is: Doing things is hard. 

Launching that project is hard, launching that book, launching that business, launching that that podcast, podcast, business, and book, launching those things, that it's hard, it's going to be hard. It's going to be way harder than you think, and that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, because not doing it also is hard, and if it's going to be hard either way, why not just do the dang thing right? 

Like logically, if it's going to be hard either way, why not at least be taking action and moving and growing? And, and it's not guaranteed to be a success, but it's guaranteed that you start to lose that, that weighty, you know, like couch feeling across your shoulders that you feel now like that you've been thinking about this project for, for literally years now and not taken action on. So that's what I would, that's my, that's my rant this morning, is that it's a pain in the butt either way, so why not reap the rewards and launch the dang thing? 

I can honestly say, man, I wish I launched my business sooner, I wish I launched my podcast sooner, I wish I launched my book sooner, no doubt about it, no doubt about it. Like all, all of those things felt weighty prior to me launching them and I could have just solved that immediately by launching, and I've gotten a lot better about this in recent years where I'm just like, screw it, I'm going to do it, and if it doesn't work out, I can make changes. It's not the end of the world at all. It's not even a big deal, I can iterate, I can refine along the way, and you can do that too. 

If you launch something and it's not perfect and it's not what you envisioned, you have the ability to reiterate and to iterate along the way and to refine it, and to make it what you want. I can almost guarantee that book you're thinking of your first draft. It's going to be way crappier than what it is in your head and that's fine, it's no big deal, it's no big deal at all, just absolutely no big deal. 

So that's it, if this podcast put you over the edge, if you've been thinking about something for like years and you're like, screw it, Matt is right it feels like crap not doing this, I might as well do it. I would love to hear about your, the thing that you're going to launch, I'd absolutely love to hear that, shoot me an email and tell me what you're going to launch and build that you've been thinking about for years. 

Because because, you know, it's… it's a grind to not do stuff. That's something people don't think about very often, is that like it can be like mental gymnastics to not take action. 

So that's it, the little Friday, little Friday podcast for you guys. 

Hope you're all doing absolutely wonderful, I've had a great week, I hope you've had a great week. It's, the weather's really warming up here in Indy and the trees are starting to fill out. It just looks beautiful and it's a fun time of year, it's a fun time of year to… to dig in and work on something, too. 

So that's it, I hope you guys are doing great, I hope if there's something that feels weighty and you've been thinking about it for years, you make the decision to get clear on what you want to actually create and then start building it, and if you feel like you're procrastinating for other reasons, I have a ton of episodes go back and there's a podcast episode, I think it's titled How to Stop Procrastinating, and that might help you, too. 

But, but anyway, the point go get started, it's going to be hard, it's going to take a lot of effort, it's going to take time, it's going to take energy, it's going to be not as smooth as it is in your head, and that's fine, and there's huge benefits to actually starting so that you can relieve this weightiness that you feel each day. 

So that's it, hope you guys have a great weekend. If you need anything, let me know, and that's it. Bye-bye.