5 Reasons to Start

I completely understand how stressful it is to start your next project – I suffer from extreme anxiety and often have to encourage myself for days, weeks, months and more to try.

I believe it stems from a fear of failure – which is ridiculous because I only know failure! But it’s like I keep hoping that each time will be better, and it isn’t…which makes we worried that it will always be this way. It’s odd, because you can grasp a sliver of success through continuous failure.

For the past several months I have been doing nothing but planning and wishing. Despite all of my best efforts those plans have yielded absolutely nothing.

I keep thinking that I need more time but then time just slips away faster and faster.

Time is the largest instigator for me right now. I was scrolling online after a particularly stressful day, and I saw a picture that said, “Less than 6 months until 2024” and I just about suffered a panic attack. My chest began to tighten, and a sense of nausea washed over me.

What bothered me the most is that I had tried so hard (from my perspective – I get that planning means nothing) and what I thought was one or two months amounted to over six months. I reflected back to December and how motivated I was to do things “differently” this year and the year is already half gone and I’m just getting older…anxiety.

So, I started a few days ago…I just started everything – my resolutions, my writing, my art, house projects. Everything that needs to get done I just picked it up.

Time will never freeze.

Below are 5 reasons to hopefully help inspire you to begin any new or existing projects:

1. Action eases anxiety. I don’t know if there is a cure for anxiety but if there is, I believe it comes from a combination of solutions. One really positive approach comes from taking action. So instead of thinking about how much there is to do and how stressful it will be – think about how many opportunities there are to lower stress.
2. It often requires less time/effort. While there doesn’t seem to be any decrease in the number of tasks that sail my way – what I often forget is how little time many of them require. Just this week, I was dreading a bit of research. When I finally started it – I was pleasantly surprised that it took a fraction of what I expected, and I spent much more time worrying about having to do it. What a waste.
3. Starting keeps you out of your head. I am one of those people that can’t be left to her own thoughts – nothing good seems to come from a decent moment to ponder. What I often forget is how good it feels to be working with my hands (even if it’s to type on a keyboard) and just avoid any toxic thoughts.
4. You might be holding onto something you don’t like. What I mean by this is when you hold off starting a project, you hold off starting something that you might end up hating. This comes from my book club where we have actively read a few books this year. Most books I have wanted to read for years. Yet some of these reads have been incredible disappointments – that I never knew I was going to dislike. I literally looked forward to something for years that I ended up hating and that really hits.
5. You never know who is watching. Your new beginning might end up being a really positive motivator for someone in your life. You just never know who can learn and be inspired.

I hope that this is your week to begin. It doesn’t take as much as you think to get rolling.