Learn to start something new

I write about productivity and work often, and what those things mean for people who want to live a better life. But a lot of what I write about is how to optimize things that you already have in place. Things like making progress at a job, or becoming a better writer or honing a skill.

I’ve been leaving out a critical component that people stumble over before they even have a chance to build momentum — how to start.

There’s a lot of resistance with starting. It takes time and energy, and the task, whatever it is, can be daunting. A lot of what prevents people from starting is mental — a hesitancy, a fear, a worry about what others may think. Learning how to start, to me, is as important a skill as any.

Something I observe often is people worrying that they do not have the knowledge, resources or experience to start something.

When I started this blog in 2018, I had never written anything online before. I just started and silenced my hesitations and uncertainty.

Over time, as you may guess, my writing improved. I got smarter. The topics I wrote about became more specific and thus my audience grew. The blog gained momentum not because I was an expert in anything but because I showed up, day after day, and didn’t let hesitation prevent me from writing.

Then, eventually, my blog led me to writing a book, going to graduate school, and becoming a full-time journalist — all because I started something in 2018.

Whether it’s a blog, a YouTube channel, a coding project, a business — ask yourself what’s holding you back. What’s the worst that could happen?

How does the worst-case-scenario compare to the best possible outcome?

Sure, you may not know everything there is to know about something. But no one ever does. I certainly didn’t when I launched my blog. But I know a lot more today after 200 blog posts than I did before writing my first.

But imagine if you did know everything. The task would probably be even more intimidating because you’d realize how much work you’d have to put in to create something worthwhile. Knowing everything ahead of time might convince you that the road ahead was too steep, the obstacles too arduous, and the work too intimidating.

Then you really wouldn’t want to start anything. The hesitation would be insurmountable.

But, given that you do not know everything, that actually gives you an advantage. You go in blind, but it leaves more room for hope, trial-and-error, and wonder.

Give yourself a chance to get skin in the game. If you try to talk yourself out of it, don’t listen. Big ambitions are meant to be intimidating, and if they weren’t, they wouldn’t be worth your time.

You don’t know everything that you could, and you don’t have all the skills that you could, but you have enough to start and enough to move on to whatever comes after that.

There’s work to be done, and as long as you don’t let it intimidate you, you can begin in earnest, and the lessons will pile up.

I wrote a bestselling book in a year while working full-time as a journalist. Learn more on Amazon.

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