Just start.
When you don’t have anything to say, no motivation, no faith in yourself; just start. Start doing the things you want to do. Do that thing that is going to bring you closer to your goals. Do the things you’ve been thinking of doing for a long time, but you never do. Just start. Do you think the world’s greatest authors or the world’s fastest runners became that way because they thought about it for years, overanalyzed it, and thought of every reason they could not to do it? The answer to that question is no by the way. Maybe for a minute they did these things and probably still do, but despite the fear and lack of motivation they continue to “just start” over and over again. I can’t imagine that every time a big-name author starts to write a new book that there isn’t some raging anxiety there. The pressure they must be under. The expectations of their readers because of the bar they have set for themselves has to feel like an enormous mountain to climb. You also can’t tell me that Kipchoge doesn’t feel fear every time he lines up on that marathon start line. The expectations are high; the pressure is there. But they start.
I’m demonstrating just starting right here in this blog post. I’ve put this off for far too long. For at least the past 6-8 years, I’ve always thought of starting a blog (I am a writer after all). I kept telling myself over and over again not to though. No one will read it. They aren’t going to like it. They’re going to judge you. They’re going to talk shit about you. You won’t be successful. You’re not good enough. The list goes on; you get the idea. Who are they anyway? I’ve given myself 1,000 reasons why I shouldn’t, and I started to believe those little reasons as they slowly compiled on top of each other. Then Mel Robbins came into my life with her simple yet profound theory. The Let Them Theory. After reading her book it occurred to me that we are simply all just here walking around trying to figure things out. When in fact, none of us have anything figured out. My mind says, “Don’t start a blog; people will judge you for it.” Okay, let them. They are entitled to their own thoughts and that doesn’t concern me now, does it. So, I did. Here I am. Because I did something small; I just started.
I started a blog. An online diary if you will. And you know what? It feels good. I’ve told myself no to too many things for far too long. So here I am, kind of saying fuck it and I’m doing the damn thing. If there’s anything I know, it’s that we all have dreams and aspirations. Most of us are just too afraid to try or to start (wink wink). We can see that novel that we wrote on the bookshelf at Barnes & Noble, but we can’t get ourselves to sit down and start writing. We can see that finish line at the end of the marathon, but we can’t get ourselves to start training. We can see that body, we can see that job, that house, that faith, that degree… But why can’t we start? Or better yet; why won’t we start? It’s because we’re scared. We’re terrified actually. And the majority of the things we are terrified of don’t even exist. We do this mind reading for everyone else and assume how they will respond. The fortune telling attribute when we assume how everything will turn out; and in our minds that’s usually a catastrophe, right?? The threats our brain tells us are there are miniscule and nonexistent. Remember, you are your own biggest critic. I know this too. About 6 months ago I lined up on a marathon start line (and holy shit what was I thinking?). I’ve never been a runner. I started running in mid-2024. I told myself I would NEVER run a marathon, as I could barely run a 5k. But guess what? I fucking did. I just started one day. I created the training plan, put on my shoes, and off I went (more on all of that later; it deserves its very own post). We are all capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. So please, for the love of all that is Holy; JUST START.
Talk Soon,
Corrah
