"Start where you are."
The index card pictured above is on my fridge, right next to the Domino's pizza magnet, and the A1 Septic Service magnet ("We're #1 in the #2 Business!")
I only keep important things on my fridge, obviously.
The index card has been there since I began my book-writing journey, or should I say, since my husband gave me the ultimatum, "Either write the book or stop talking about it." Wow, the people you love most can be so cruel sometimes. I guess he got tired of my pipe-dreaming and butterfly chasing and decided it was high time I actually did something.
"Okay, I WILL!" I was hurt by his lack of sensitivity to my need to think about it for another month or two.
So I sat at my computer and cracked my knuckles. Stretched out my fingers and prepared for inspiration to flow.
Wait. First I need a cup of coffee.
Why are there so many crumbs on this counter?
I'll just wipe it down.
Then I'll get back to my desk.
After I put away the dishes.
It's amazing how busy you can be, without actually doing anything.
Starting is hard for perfectionists, even Messy Perfectionists. We want our first attempts at everything to be flawless. So we strategize, and make lists, and assemble tools, download software, watch youtube instructional videos, research....all in the name of planning.
But all that planning means you're never actually doing.
You see, perfectionism is procrastination's best friend.
Which leads me to another great quote:
Seeming to do is not doing. (Thomas Edison)
OUCH!
That one really hurts me. But it kind of nails my M.O.
Busy, busy. Not really doing anything meaningful. Not actually starting that thing that's so big. That thing that's important. But I sure am busy, planning my perfect assault on the mountain in front of me.
Writing my book meant I had to start somewhere. I had to throw some words on the pages and write some bad chapters. I had to quit making outlines and doing research and simply....begin. I had to start where I was, which was overwhelmed, scared and unprepared.
That's a perfectly good place to begin. It's exactly where most great things are born.
What are you putting off starting today? Are you telling yourself that you're working on it, but deep down, you know you're simply "seeming to do" instead of "doing?"
Today, simply start where you are.
Stop tiptoeing around the edges and testing the waters. There will be no better time to start than right now.
Start that decluttering you've been putting off for years. You really have enough Pinterest pins on organizing...now, just do it.
Start that new resume. You don't need to research new formatting and perfect fonts.
Start that painting. Make a bad one.
Start that flower bed. It doesn't have to be perfect.
Start that load of laundry.
Start that blog.
Start that book.
Start that business.
Start that Bible Study.
Start that degree program.
You name it...but simply start.
This is the day to begin.
Question: What will you start today?
I want to know.
Love,
Rachel
My book about life, faith, and second chances. And a donkey.
