The first hard thing any of us ever do is start.
The moment before that moment can stretch into days, years, a lifetime, even.
We love the control of living inside our own heads, dreaming dreams, constructing towering ideas that are dazzling in their beauty, complexity and importance.
But to make these ideas come to life in one brilliant flash – it’s impossible. It’s smothering.
Fortunately, there’s a concept called Minimum Viable Progress.
Here’s how it works.
You take something big. Maybe even dauntingly gigantic, like removing single-use plastic from everyday life.
And you break that vision down into smaller and smaller actions and outcomes, laid out sequentially in reverse, from the far off Someday, all the way back to this very second.
Now see that first, seemingly inconsequential action right in front of you? That’s your first step. Your start.
Because you are here, and have likely already begun your journey of making plastic-free swaps, you’re on your way. You are progress.
Another example is this journal piece you are reading right now.
It is the first entry in what we hope will be a regular offering from HiBAR.
We had the ambitious dream that this initial post would be a masterpiece, crammed with wisdom, helpful hints, and of course, search terms that help us rise in the ranks of Google. Search terms like ‘solid shampoo’, ‘shampoo bar’ and ‘ecofriendly beauty’. (Wink wink.)
But the more we fantasized about it, the more difficult it became to write. The longer it took to get going, and the more other ideas got backlogged, waiting for perfection to happen.
So, instead, we just sat down and started writing. Everything you have read so far has been written in fifteen minutes.
Future journal entries will cover a range of topics, such as adventure and beauty, all with an overlay of environment and optimism. We hope you find it helpful, or amusing, or uplifting.
Stay tuned for our next post, in which we will make a long awaited announcement, accompanied by an interview with a very lovely person.
About the author:
Dion Hughes is a co-founder of HiBAR, and is commonly afflicted with writer’s block. He despises plastic more than the average person, but believes that human beings are clever and well-meaning, and entirely capable of solving big problems.
Got something to say?
We're always looking for interesting points of view for our HiBAR Journal. If you're a writer or creator, and would like to have your helpful insights shared with our likeminded community, contact us at hi@hellohibar.com
