I have been thinking the last few years about things that I’ve learned as an adult that I see young adults and people in general struggling with. And it got me to wondering why it’s not a struggle anymore, because growing up it was kind of a struggle sometimes.

What is that struggle? Starting. All sorts of people that I talk to, especially young adults seem somewhat paralyzed when it comes to making changes in their lives, or moving on to the next phase of their lives. They are excited on one hand, and apprehensive and indecisive on the other. And maybe, because I have several kids in some major shifts, from school and living with parents, to other school, more responsibility, and taking care of themselves, that I see this struggle that these young adults seem to have.

I didn’t struggle hugely with change, I’ve always liked change. Even still, there were many times when I wasn’t sure which path to take, and in some ways wished I could just sit down and let others make the decision for me. I’ve learned that’s not the best thing though, to give others that much control over me.

As I’ve thought about this, I wondered, why the struggle? But I think with age comes perspective. When you’re young and you’re right in the thick of it, it’s hard to see that there’s a lot of life ahead, and a lot more time to choose and then change your mind and try something new than you realize.

The other thing I think people see is how much work it’ll take to get where they might want to go. They see all the work and sometimes it’s hard to see all the benefits that go along with it. College is another 4-5 years, or more, which, when you’re young seems like a huge amount of time. Consequently, some people will forgo education because it’ll take too long. Or whatever the case may be, it takes too long to lose 20 pounds, to write a book, to learn a new skill and become proficient, or whatever the goal is.

If I were to be able to go back and give my younger self some advice, it would be this – Set the goals and then break them down. Chip away at them one little piece at a time. There’s plenty of time to get this or that huge task done, and then many more just like it or bigger. Don’t shirk the work, jump in with both feet and start. Often, starting is the hardest part anyway, once you’re into it, you realize it’s totally doable.

I am now doing many of the things that I only dreamed of when I was a young adult just starting out. I have learned many new skills over the years as I have had the courage to just simply start on the next task. When I have been overwhelmed, or couldn’t see the path ahead, I researched a little bit more, or I broke it down into even smaller steps. The key is to keep going, even if it’s by baby steps.

I still struggle sometimes to decide what to do. But rarely is it a fear of picking the wrong thing, fear of starting, or of failure, or anything like that anymore. I now want to know so many things, I want to experience so many good things, the struggle is picking where to put my time first.