The distance between you and that next dream job, that new crush, that new friend or mentor is just one small step. Many of us forget the importance of taking baby steps whilst concentrating entirely on the big picture.
Chaos theorists say that a single flap of a butterfly can start a tornado. Well, I am not talking about something so dramatic (it may be), but with every small step you wish to take but don't, you are missing an entire array of new experiences.
We constantly take these baby steps even now, but we are plagued by the group theory. We don't mind it when everyone around us is doing it, say at an orientation program you are asked to sit with an entire new set of people and it turns out to be a good experience generally, but how many of us would have sat next to strangers if no one asked us to? If no one else was doing it?
We seek permission from people in everything we do. I think that needs to stop. Almost every other guy is as hopeless as you when it comes to doing new things.
So why don't we stop caring about others and start taking those baby steps even when no one else is.
The power of initiation is undervalued. It is the only differentiator between you and that person you want to be.
Do you remember the most fond memories in your life? The moments that remain stuck like a bee in the amber of your brain.
The trekking trip to a hill station, the random party hopping on a Saturday night, talking to a stranger at a bar , a weekday movie marathon or whatever it might be, when you think about how all of these moments started, you will discover that it was probably one person who had this thought of doing something new and shared it with you. He was brave enough to initiate it.
"Let's go to that trek or that party etc..." he might have said.
Ask yourself, where would those amazing memories and moments be if it wasn't for that one person initiating it.
Initiation requires just a little bit of courage, madness and confidence.
And that's not it, many a times, things that you initiate will not blossom into something fantastic, but you will still come out as a wiser person, you would have gained wisdom from the failure, made new friends, built a network.
So the next time when you are out there and you feel like doing something nobody else around you or anywhere is doing, something you wish to try.
You see plastic covers collected near the dustbins and are irritated by them? You want to enroll in a dancing class? You want to talk to that cute girl whom you have shared eye contact with once or twice in a bar?
Go ahead, take a deep breath and do it.
A plethora of new experiences await you.