On Getting Started

The hardest part is just getting started.

I’ve spent the last three years standing still. THREE YEARS. I had the worst time getting started. Why? Because I was afraid of failing.

The entire time I’ve been standing still was me telling myself that I’m not good enough. That this blog will never be good enough. That I will never connect with anyone through my photos or projects. I’ve been standing still and stuck in my own head.

Each day that I don’t make any progress makes it that much harder to get started again. And then the negative thoughts come rolling back in.

Overcoming Fear

I don’t think I’ve ever overcome my fear at all. When I made my goal in January 2020 with a simple list of things I wanted to write on this blog, I tried to make it short! But even 20 posts was too much for me to even get to in 2020.

This post was supposed to be written in 2020, but it’s already July of 2021! Last year I would have been mad at myself because I failed. I was mad at myself. Because I couldn’t even write 20 posts.

But I did write 20 posts in 2020. In fact, I wrote 26 posts in 2020. I just didn’t write all of the #20in2020 posts that I sought out to do. And I was hard on myself for exceeding my goal because it wasn’t exactly what my original goal was. As we pivoted through the hills and valleys that was 2020, I never could accept that I was still achieving my initial goal – even though the details of the goal was evolving!

Steps For Getting Started

1. First Thoughts – Give yourself 15 minutes. Put on a timer if you have to. Let your thoughts go to figure out what you want. Write down the first few topics that you think of! None of these are dumb or stupid ideas. You can be passionate about any topic that interests you!
2. Create Buckets – Once you have about five ideas, create give small sections on your notepad. Visually, you’re separating your ideas into buckets of similar content. Does some of the topics you listed overlap with each other or are very similar? You should focus on these topics! Do none of your topics relate? Do another brain storm session!
3. Choose One Thing – Don’t get yourself into a decision paralysis. The writing process comes with topics in which we’re very interested in and some that we’re not interested at all. Choose one topic, then start writing. Just keep writing about the one thing. Once you keep building on your thoughts, a clear vision should appear. Harness that vision and keep going!

More Thoughts…

I’m still a little fearful, but I keep writing more and moving forward. I’ve reached the point where I’m throwing so many ideas out there that I’m needing to wrangle myself back in to a more focused vision.

If you don’t think these are the best tips, then please let me know some tips you’ve tried in the comments below! I’d love to learn how you got over the fear of getting started.

Photo by Taryn Elliott from Pexels