The First Step Is The Hardest – But It Changes Everything

A Typical Morning Story

It’s 6 am, I’ve got my workout outfit on, as I do every day at this time. But today I feel weak and very tired. It’s like I don’t even have the mood to make myself move. 

“Maybe I should go back to bed. I feel tired.” – I think to myself – “I can skip today, it’s fine. I shouldn’t be too hard on myself.” 

I stop and contemplate for a short while. I think of the pros and cons of my decision:

Choice 1: Exercise

Pros:

1. Burning calories
2. Keeping up with my exercise routine
3. Keeping up with my weight loss target

Cons:

1. I feel tired, so wouldn’t exercise lead to ignoring my body, not listening to it

Choice 2: No exercise

Pros:

1. I listen to my body

Cons:

1. Feeling heavy and tired throughout the day
2. Breaking the chain of my exercise habit building

These are just a few pros and cons that come to my mind. And while it seems a good strategy to make my decision based on logic, there is something that emerges in me, something that urges me to just start; something that urges me to ignore all the logic and make the first step. And I do.

Five minutes in, all of my tiredness and weakness have evaporated into thin air. Instead, I feel strong and energised. My lousy mood has too disappeared quickly, and it’s been replaced by pure joy.

It May Sound Like An Innocent Story But Actually  How You Respond To It Defines Your Whole Life

Now as I sit and write, I think about the above scenario, which has happened to me so many times. And even though at times I chose to perceive re, there were multiple occasion when I just crawled back into bed.

And I’m thinking on all of the positive emotions and all of the benefits that I’ve missed for choosing the easier option.

You may say, that’s fine, it’s just a day exercise that I’ve missed out on. But think about it, this is just one small example.

How many opportunities we miss just because we don’t feel like doing something, or we feel scared.

Perhaps you wanted to voice your opinion during an office meeting but chose not to, fearing you might be wrong. Or maybe you’ve dreamed of starting a business for a long time, but decided to stay in your boring job because it felt safer. And deep down, a part of you aches — not because you failed, but because you never really gave yourself a chance. You silenced your voice, your passion, your potential… just to feel comfortable.

But comfort doesn’t build a life you’re proud of. Courage does. And every time you ignore that small whisper inside you, it gets harder to hear. Until one day, the whisper turns into regret.

It’s not too late to change the story. One small act of bravery — one honest word, one step forward — can reignite everything you thought you had buried. Your dreams aren’t gone. They’re just waiting for you to believe in them again.

There is a talk by Eddie Pinero on YouTube, where he tells a story about a day out with his friends. They went cliff jumping in the mountains. And whilst some of them had already done it before, for Eddie cliff jumping was a brand new experience. So he paused at the age of the cliff, heart racing, palms sweating, mind racing. In that moment, he almost decided against the jump. But then something emerged in him, something that urged him to jump despite of the fear. And he did.

In an instant, the panic, fear, and dread were swept away — replaced by a surge of adrenaline unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Whether it’s the simple decision to exercise or not, or the more daunting choice to leave your job, start a business, or even jump off a cliff — know this: you’re not just one step away from something amazing… you’re standing before the hardest step of all — the first one.

And if you do choose to take that step, everything begins to shift — and suddenly, what once felt impossible starts to feel within reach.