The hardest part of learning to ride a bicycle–or setting up and sticking to a practice schedule–is DECIDING to do it.

Last week I wrote about practicing ferociously. Here is how one subscriber, Rita, responded:

“I resist practicing anything ferociously that would further my career, and then I wonder why. I get that feeling when I think about doing challenging things, even following through on promises, that I’m stepping out on a tightrope or setting out on a bicycle, which I still don’t know how to ride.”

I used to believe that two things hold us back from getting what we want and deserve:

(1) We don’t know what to do to get it, and

(2) We’re afraid to do what has to be done.

I’ve come to believe that in most cases, however, what holds us back is that we haven’t made the decision to get it.

It’s not really that we don’t know what to do or how to do it. Author Steve Chandler says, “If I offer someone a million dollars to train for and run a marathon, he won’t be stopped by the fact that he doesn’t know how to train for it. Once he’s decided to accept the offer, he’ll learn how.”

And while I talk about how powerful a force fear can be in my book, The High Diving Board, overcoming fear requires a decision–to allow yourself to be afraid and do it anyway.

Rita knows she needs to practice to further her career, but simply hasn’t decided to do either.

Once someone has truly decided to make a change, the change itself is almost a foregone conclusion.

I challenge any subscriber to this e-letter to decide to change something and share it on my Blog at www.brassringcoachingblog.com. To the extent I can in an e-mail or two, I’ll help you make it happen.

If yours is a desire to make your business or professional practice better, to have more and better clients, or to have more time away from your work to spend with your family, contact me now for a complimentary coaching session.

In the meantime, decide to move forward and keep REACHING…

Sandy