The Art of Getting Started (Again)

4 min read

Okay, let’s get started! ..But, how? You might’ve asked, my friend. Maybe you’ve found it hard to ‘just start’ and do something? Feeling overwhelmed by all the tasks and even dreaded by the possibility of ending up being another ‘failure’? Fear not, you’re not alone. Actually, it’s so common that even the ones who have started and succeeded in doing great things have often had to go through the same feelings. No matter what you want to do, be it learning a musical instrument, learning a new language, starting a new business, or a fitness routine.

What would make you get started?

Take some time to reflect on this question. We want to step out of the problem-focused mindset for a bit. Instead of looking for the causes of the problems, we’re looking for the potential causes for our solutions. Free your thoughts, write it down or talk it out, to yourself or maybe a dog, they’re good listeners! Also, no list of excuses. Be kind to yourself and be curious.

“If your best friend was in the same place as you, what resources and supports would you like them to have?”

What differences would you notice after you’ve started?

Because we want change, we have to make a difference. How would you feel about yourself? How would your average day be different from before? What would your close friends and loved ones see or say to you? What would your dog think of you? Is it proud? But, you can be sure that I’m so proud of you (winks).

The magic of this question is in the details! No vagueness allowed. Be specific about your feelings, break down your average day by hour, down to every single task, all the words you would hear, and even how your dog shows you love. This is not wishful thinking, but actual work on the brain to stimulate the neuroplasticity process. Imaginative thinking and positive thinking help expand your mind and, literally, stretch your brain. No wonder how negative thinking could also shape our brains in different ways too, right?

How can you embrace mistakes and failures as a part of the process?

Let’s be honest, we’re gonna make mistakes and fail along the way. You might be experiencing what we call ‘loss aversion’ or ‘risk aversion’ right now. If losses are equal to gains, or when you risk a loss of 10 for a gain of 20, we’d still feel impacted by losses more than gains. In reality, it’s not that simple to measure gains and losses but be aware of how your mind is tricking you.

Think of all the skills you have learned in the past. Can you remember the struggle when you were learning to walk or speak your native language as a young child? Maybe not, why? Because you didn’t have this fear of failure at that time? I still feel guilty about making my neighbors suffer weeks of worse-than-bad piano playing before I was finally able to play a piece without irritating my neighbor’s dog.

In software development, they always start with a minimum viable product (MVP) that has only enough basic features to be usable. It’s buggy, breaks easily, and is far from perfect, but it’s good enough to deploy and gain feedback from early users to further improve and develop the product. It takes numerous iterations before it becomes a polished product.

Start, fail, learn, and try again

We grow by trying to do something → fail or succeed → learn and improve → try again. This positive feedback loop is the master key not just to the art of getting started but also to the art of being consistent. Consider this, someone could be a great starter but never accomplish or stick to it and ends up being the unfinished project collector.. (not looking at myself at all). Therefore, getting started is just half of the equation.

Start again, every day.

Make it a bit better each time, and learn along the way. You don’t need to know everything from the start, no one knows everything from the start and, heck, no one even knows everything at the end. Go and take your best journey. I wish you the best and all.

Be kind, be happy.