When You Don’t Want to Start
Start.
It’s one of the most difficult things we ask ourselves to do.
Whether you dream about going back to school, launching a side business, growing your family, moving across state lines, or any plethora of things . . . nothing is harder than just starting.
I felt this last year when I decided 2021 would be the year I finally wrote the novel I’ve always wanted to write. But there were a couple of things holding me back from starting:
I didn’t have any form of significant platform that would be even mildly impressive to a future agent or publisher.
My baby was only four months old and “sleeping through the night” was still mostly a guessing game.
I didn’t have any childcare, which meant my writing time would be limited to whenever my baby cooperated with a good nap.
Fiction was a mysterious beast. Up until then, I’d only ever written magazine articles and marketing copy . . . fiction was a whole new ball game I felt clueless about. Where do I even start? was a familiar question in my head.
Freelance copywriting work was piling up and taking up the only free time (nap time) I had to write.
I could probably double or triple this list, and I often did in my head. I told myself I needed to hire a babysitter first, read a couple of books on fiction writing, watch some training videos online, outline the entire book, join a mastermind group where I could take my questions . . . the list of things I needed just to start was endless. And you know what? It would only get longer if I allowed it to.
During this time, my writing group got together for a day-long retreat (we do these every quarter). At the end of the retreat, we usually do some kind of craft to end the day on a high note. That day’s craft was my absolute favorite. We took old books, flipped the covers inside out, and designed the covers of the books we were either working on or dreaming about. That’s mine to the left :)
I had so much fun creating this cover!
We even spent the time to write out the back cover copy and a short author bio on the back. It’s exactly what I needed to not only help me start this project, but help me finish too.
Because . . . can I let you in on a little secret? You can’t finish until you start.
I know, mind blowing, right?
But this little visual queue truly helped me do both. It was a daily motivator to get more words on a page so that one day I could hold a real-life printed novel in my hands. I reminded myself that if I didn’t sit to write the words, I’d never get to hold this finished product. And now that it felt like something I could see and hold, I wanted the real thing even more. It was like the dangling carrot I needed to not only start, but finish.
So, let me ask you . . . what are you dreaming about starting?
Make a list of anything you want to start and make it however long you want to make it. When you have your list, spend some time prioritizing each dream/action step. Label them #1, #2, #3, etc.
Finally, look at your #1 and ask yourself: What dangling carrot can I create to motivate myself to start? It could be:
An inspirational quote or image
An accountability partner who regularly checks in with you
A vision board or some other visual element to help you envision the finish line
A downpayment (money is real skin in the game!)
Whatever it is, I’m rooting for you. Get started friend . . . I can assure you, you will reach the finish line a lot more quickly once you do ;)
