We all have ideas – big ideas, small ideas, silly ideas, serious ideas – ideas, ideas, ideas! Our brains are moving quickly, jumping from one thought to another, fitting in fancy between grocery lists and laundry sorting, ideas unbidden and unexplored passing through at light speed….most of the time. We have other ideas as well….lingering ideas. Ideas playing along the edges, teasing at your brain, elusive but never far away…..what about those ideas?

Chance are pretty good you have some ideas not quite nagging at you but refusing to be outright ignored. Maybe you should be working on education for career advancement; you know it is important and yet you can never quite decide how, or when, or where. Maybe you are thinking about ways to improve your health but after 40-plus years of not thinking about it at all, it seems too daunting a task – or worse, your many previous false starts have left you too disheartened to seriously think about it again (“What’s the point? Heavy sigh…..). Perhaps you know in your heart you should be writing but you simply cannot imagine anyone bothering to read it.

NEWSFLASH!!!! WE ALL FEEL THIS WAY SOMETIMES!!!!!!

And it is okay to experience some self-doubt; anyone claiming to be 100% confident 100% of the time is either a) lying, or b) deluded, and either way, not your best role model.

First, examine your idea: What is it you want to do? Can you see yourself doing it?

Second, decide the course of action: How will you do it? Can you accomplish it with little disruption (i.e. can you do it at home, or near your office, or anywhere not out of reach)?

Third, organize your time: When will you do it? Does your current schedule have a convenient slot, or must you move things around to make space?

Fourth, and this is the big one: Do it. Just do it. Do not worry about long-term goals, or big picture success, just do something right now – stop thinking or looking around or worrying – just do it. Do not worry about it being “right” or “good enough” or “useful.” You might not like it at first – do not worry about that, either – everything takes time.

Just do it because that is how you eat an elephant – one bite at a time.