Jumping in With Both Feet
There’s a raw vulnerability in sharing your words
“Start at the end.”
That’s the advice I gave my kids when they were stalled on a writing assignment for school. Blank pages — whether on screens or in lined spiral notebooks — are far too intimidating and only lead to paralysis of the mind. Better to start somewhere in the middle and circle back to the beginning later. But most importantly, just start.
I’ve been thinking about my own advice lately as I have admittedly spent far too much time trying to decide what to write about for my first post on Medium. So, I am starting in the middle. Or in some ways, it’s the beginning.
When I was a kid, my Dad told me there were some people who approached the water and jumped in unabashedly. Upon learning it was ice cold, they’d shriek, “It’s freezing!!!”, he’d say enthusiastically. Other people, he’d explain with far less enthusiasm, approached the water’s edge, carefully dipping a toe in to test the temperature before deciding whether to go in.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist or my Dad’s enthusiastic grin to tell the nine-year-old me which one was preferable. Certainly, the no-fear jumper was far more spirited and fun. But that wasn’t me. Literally. One summer, I actually climbed down the high diving board ladder at the community pool, my bare feet squeezing past each sunburned kid waiting their turn on the narrow rungs, their disparaging whispers loud enough to hear. As humiliating as that was, I just couldn’t take the plunge.
Similar scenarios played out at amusement parks. I spent my friend’s birthday party sitting on a bench with the moms, watching the other partygoers running from one screeching ride to another with glee. What can I say? Roller coasters are just not my thing (and believe me — I’ve tried more than once and only survived by miserably screaming and clenching my fists on the metal bar until the ordeal was over).
But that doesn’t mean I don’t take risks and I take issue with anyone who thinks you need to bungee jump off a bridge to be a risk-taker. Risk is highly personal. As a writer, one of the biggest risks I must face every time I take pen to paper or hands to a keyboard is putting myself in front of an audience. There’s a raw vulnerability in sharing your words. That’s why so many writers keep diaries with their thoughts; there is no scrutiny if nobody reads what you write.
Today, my self-imposed deadline for posting on Medium is forcing me to fill the blank screen before me and hit “publish”, whether I am ready to take that risk or not. There’s no backing down that ladder today. No more dangling the toe in the water to test the temperature. I’ve decided to jump into this new endeavor with both feet. Whether the water is cold or lukewarm, as long as I don’t drown, it will have been a good decision.
Thank you, reader, for spending a few minutes with me as I begin my journey as a new writer on Medium. If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read, please comment, clap, and follow me on this journey called life. Visit writing-solutionsllc.com to learn more about my professional writing services.
