It isn’t much but it’s… well… something
On your mark… get set… go!
Whoa hold it there. Where’s the fire? Why are we in such a hurry to get going before we even know where we want to end up? I have some questions:
What are you starting? Do you even know?
How should you start it?
Why are you starting this something?
Do you just want to be a person who starts things?Do you want to be noticed? Ego? Id? Superego?Did you count the cost to yourself? Your family? Your community?Does it really add value?Is it just ‘graffiti?’ Is it new? Better? Really?Is it expendable? Do people need or want this?Are these questions relevant to starting something? Maybe….
The 3 top reasons why we fail to start something:
- Doubt: in our creativity, the worth of our idea, the quality of our product, whether we can finish what we’ve started.
- Money: enough said.
- Procrastination: because of the previous two and any other reasons we can think.
Conclusion: all three of these reasons and most others we can come up with are really fear in disguise. Step over the stones of fear and get going.
The Secret of starting something?
Wait for it….
Wait for it….
begin. That’s it… begin.
It took me all month to write this article even though I started it at the beginning of the month. Starting was easy. I had unfinished ideas, most of which didn’t make it this far but still good for something else. Why did it take me so long? I wanted it to be excellent. Spoiler- it isn’t, but I started it and finished it, and hopefully I learned something along the way.
I could have waited, in my usual fashion to ‘get it right.’ That’s called procrastination and I am a master. What if I can’t come up with a complete proposal? What if I only have a snippet of advice or morsel to chew on? Is it worth it? Is it enough to start something? Maybe not for now, maybe not even for me but those morsels may help someone else start something.
If we want to start something we don’t need to do it alone or in a vacuum. It can be collaborative.
Like a charrette.
Like this website.
Everyone should have some advice about starting something because everyone has started something. It may not be a revolution but why does it have to be? Nothing is better for learning how to do something than doing something and you have to start somewhere. Maybe we shouldn’t be looking to start the next occupy movement (what was that about anyway?), or worse, imagining how that something will make us a living.
The point is, it’s easy to start something and difficult to finish. So what? Should I not start something because I am afraid I won’t be able to finish? I believe good can come of it either way.
Maybe we should just begin… start… something… somewhere and see what happens.
Photo: JD Hancock