Take The First Step

This is one of those days where I struggle, staring at a blank screen with a blinking cursor, trying to come up with something to share with all of you. I think about the subjects I could write about and then throw them out one by one, either because I have already written about them or because I don't know what to write about them. There is nothing more difficult for a writer than having nothing to write. When this happens, I just start writing. Sometimes, this writing ends up being good and other times it does not. Either way, once the words start flowing, I find it a little easier to keep them coming.

I know I have written about starting a couple of times and incorporated it in to some other recent posts, but I can not stress the importance enough. Once you start moving, it is easier to keep moving. Once you start writing, it is easier to keep writing. The same is true with losing weight, saving money, eating healthier, cooking more, reading more...pretty much anything you want to do is easier once you get started. The hardest part is going from stopped to starting. It can also be hard to continue moving, but not nearly as hard as starting.

Once you start, there will still be fears and there will still be excuses, but these are much easier to ignore when you are moving. Once you get a little momentum, the drive to continue is always there. It won't be easy, but it will be easier. For most of us, we need that little push, the nudge, to get started, but like a stone rolling down a hill...the littlest nudge can keep us going for quite a while. No matter what it is you want to do, just start. Don't worry about having everything planned or knowing everything you are going to do. You can decide this once you start moving. If you are waiting for the perfect time, then start now. There is no time like the present to do something new and different.

The finish line rarely matters, except in races. Even then, it is often not important to anyone other than the winner. For everything we are going to do, the start is the most important part. Once we start, our life begins to take a new direction, one where aren't quite sure what will happen. We don't know what is to come, only what we want to come. Don't worry about the finish or even what will come next...these are all things you can figure out once you start moving.

Starting can be hard. It can be scary. Sometimes, you have no clue what you are doing. Sometimes, like my writing today, you don't know for sure where it is going to take you until you get there. But, once you start, you can make choices and steer in the directions you want to go. Anything you want to do, no matter how crazy or out of reach you think it is, begins with the start. Take the first step, make the first move, write the first word and just see what happens. You only get one shot at life; don't waste it standing still.

Start Moving

For a lot of people, the scariest question anyone can ask is "what do you really want to do?". We have so many things we would like to try and yet, we don't know which to do. We worry about failure and not actually liking what we choose and if we are going to be good enough and what the future will bring if we choose this but not that.

We hesitate and end up defaulting to what we are doing without really making a choice. There is no moving forward and we continue to bitch and moan about how we aren't happy or we aren't doing something we are passionate about. Making a choice is hard. Changing our trajectory in life is even harder. Doing nothing new is easy and takes little effort, but it doesn't lead to anything better. When this happens, the only person we can blame is ourself.

Spend some time today thinking about what you want to do. It can be within the job you have now. If you could do anything within your company, what would it be? If you don't see anything within your company, start looking outside of it. Find something you want to try and then do it. You don't have to know what will lead you to happiness, you only have to know what you want to try. If you don't like it, then you find something else to try. Keep searching and changing and doing new things. Don't be afraid of the future that will unfold based on your choices...if you are bored or unhappy now, it will be better than where you are.

Not making a choice helps no one. Once you become frustrated or bored, you are no longer able to do great work. Yes, you can get by, but who are you really helping? You don't have to know what you want to do for the rest of your life. All you need to know is what things you would like to try. No one knows exactly what the future will bring, but if you have ideas, you are already ahead of many of us. If you start acting on these ideas, you will be doing something many of us only talk about. 

Really think about this. What do you really want to do? This shouldn't be a scary question, but a question your have multiple answers for and are excited to answer. We shouldn't paralyzed, but instead should jump at any opportunity to continue moving forward. Yes, you may end up thinking you would have liked it better if you didn't make the change, but this should only be a fleeting thought before deciding it is time to move forward again. Keep pushing ever forward and trying new things.

If you have been reading this blog and continue to come back, my guess is you are not the type of person who is going to stick with the same job for the rest of your life. We live in an age where most people will not stay with the same company for their career and then retire. We are doing something new and different, something our parents and their parents wouldn't understand. We are searching for what will make us feel good. We are searching for the niche where we will be able to do the most good. We are constantly changing and moving around and trying new things. We have multiple interests and talents and want to try them all out. The world is constantly changing around us and we need to change with it.

What do you really want to do? Instead of freezing when asked this question, spend enough time thinking about it to come up with multiple answers. We only get one shot at life, shouldn't we give it everything we've got? No excuses. No hesitation. Start moving.