Based on your language here, it feels to me like you’re in the contemplation stage along the stages of change.
So the very first thing I’d say is to not feel the desire to jump ahead and “get started on a goal right now.” That’s jumping ahead in the stages of change, and will likely create a relapse. I will predict that there’s a 50% chance that if you continue thinking about this without “forcing it”, you’ll have started in on a goal (action stage) within 3 months.
I’m pretty convinced that they key to getting yourself to do stuff is “Creative Tension”—creating a clear internal tension between the end state that feels good and the current state that doesn’t feel as good. There are 4 ways I know to go about generating internal tension:
Develop a strong sense of self, and create tension between the world where you’re fully expressing that self and the world where you’re not.
Develop a strong sense of taste, and create tension between the beautiful things that could exist and what exists now.
Develop a strong pain, and create tension between the world where you have that pain and the world where you’ve solved it.
Develop a strong vision, and create tension between the world as it is now and the world as it would be in your vision.
One especially useful trick that worked for me coming from the “just develop myself into someone awesome” place was tying the vision of the awesome person I could be with the vision of what I’d achieved—that is, in m vision of the future, including a vision of the awesome person I had to become in order to reach that future.
I then would deliberately contrast where I was now with that compelling vision/self/taste with where I was. Checking in with that vision every morning, and fixing areas of resistance when they arise, is what keeps me motivated.
I do have a workshop that I run on exactly how to create that vision that’s tied with sense of self and taste, and then how to use it to generate creative tension. Let me know if something like that would be helpful to you.
I’ve gone through something very similar.
Based on your language here, it feels to me like you’re in the contemplation stage along the stages of change.
So the very first thing I’d say is to not feel the desire to jump ahead and “get started on a goal right now.” That’s jumping ahead in the stages of change, and will likely create a relapse. I will predict that there’s a 50% chance that if you continue thinking about this without “forcing it”, you’ll have started in on a goal (action stage) within 3 months.
Secondly, unlike some of the other responses here, I think your analysis is fairly accurate. I’ve certainly found that picking up gears when I need them for my goals is better than learning them ahead of time.
Now, in terms of “how to actually do it.”
I’m pretty convinced that they key to getting yourself to do stuff is “Creative Tension”—creating a clear internal tension between the end state that feels good and the current state that doesn’t feel as good. There are 4 ways I know to go about generating internal tension:
Develop a strong sense of self, and create tension between the world where you’re fully expressing that self and the world where you’re not.
Develop a strong sense of taste, and create tension between the beautiful things that could exist and what exists now.
Develop a strong pain, and create tension between the world where you have that pain and the world where you’ve solved it.
Develop a strong vision, and create tension between the world as it is now and the world as it would be in your vision.
One especially useful trick that worked for me coming from the “just develop myself into someone awesome” place was tying the vision of the awesome person I could be with the vision of what I’d achieved—that is, in m vision of the future, including a vision of the awesome person I had to become in order to reach that future.
I then would deliberately contrast where I was now with that compelling vision/self/taste with where I was. Checking in with that vision every morning, and fixing areas of resistance when they arise, is what keeps me motivated.
I do have a workshop that I run on exactly how to create that vision that’s tied with sense of self and taste, and then how to use it to generate creative tension. Let me know if something like that would be helpful to you.