Getting Started Is the Hardest Part

Plenty of people have said it before and I’ll say it again: nothing is more terrifying than a blank piece of paper. The unknowns are never greater, the opportunities for failure never more numerous, and the amount of work never more daunting than before you’ve started at all. Some say showing up, committing, and getting started is half the battle of accomplishing anything great; I tend to agree and more.

To get started, it helps to forget the challenge ahead. Put out of your mind how much you need to do, any doubts you have, or any questions left unanswered. Stop making excuses, stop being a scaredy pants, and push through. Just start. Stop thinking about it. Stop talking about it. Just start. Do it. Now. It won’t kill you to get started. While people might judge you on how you finish something, absolutely no one will judge you on how you start it (except, I suppose, in spectator sports). Acknowledge that, rationally, starting should be the easy part. Then, go pick that low hanging fruit! Put the pencil on the paper, type a few words, record your thoughts, anything to make something out of absolutely nothing. Only when you start to see an idea take shape in front of you can it feel more familiar, less daunting, and spark the motivation you need to get through. When you’re in the middle of creating something great, it’s not so scary, is it?