How many times would you give your average baby the chance to walk before you told that little bundle of joy to just give up? Don’t worry. You don’t have to come up with an answer yet, we will come back to this question soon.
This is a blog post about “Getting Started.” Specifically starting something new. Whether it’s a new project, creative venture, business or relationship getting started is literally step one in the process. Every process. But for some reasons we never really get used to doing it. I know it sounds kind oxymoronic right? How can you get used to starting something new? Well I’ve been giving it some thought (especially because I didn’t know how to start my blog) and figured I’d share what I learned.
Getting started is all about going into “it” with two key things; a positive framework and some fundamental assumptions that go with being a beginner that we tend to forget.
A Positive Framework:
How eager are we to get up and do something when we are imaging all the possible ways it can go wrong? Less than enthusiastic I bet. But when we can sit down and dream up all the ways for something to go right, our brains kick in, beginning to formulate ways for us to get closer to that reality.
A great exercise for fostering this can-do attitude is to create a list of possible winning situations. This list of ways helps to embed the idea of success deep into the subconscious mind and writing is an excellent way to organize thoughts. Another way that can help to get to that positive mental framework is talking to a “how can I help” type of friend. These are the people you can call at 3am with a half-baked scheme and they typically respond with something like “that sounds awesome, I always thought you’d be good at that.” These people say things like “I can introduce you to….” “I can show you how to” or “have you ever thought about trying it this way….” If you don’t have any friends like this you have a bit of a different problem that won’t be addressed in this post. Knowing that you have an immediate support network for the “something new” will give you courage and confidence.
The last thing to remember is that you shouldn’t worry about failure. Fear of failure is often the biggest deterrent for starting something new. The embarrassment, awkwardness, and shame that is associated with failure can be crippling. But in each perceived failure there exists feedback. The lessons that come in the form of misfired experiments tend to pay dividends far greater than any success. Welcome another chance at failure. It’s a sign you are growing.
Fundamental Assumptions:
Now that you have the right attitude here are a few more nuggets to keep in mind as you forge ahead once again in the “beginner’s process”:
- Once upon a time, you were bad at everything. And even if you weren’t horrible the first time, you weren’t as good as you are now. Be patient and enjoy the challenge.
- It’s probably going to fail. Like I mentioned above, don’t fear it. Revel in failure like you would in victory. Remember the master has failed more times than the student has ever began.
- Success leaves clues. You most likely don’t have to get started from scratch. There is someone or something similar to what you are trying to do. Do your homework.
- Think big, but start small. I know how excited some ideas can be, but ideas that are too big can be even more daunting to start. So think about it like this; how is it possible for a lion to eat an elephant? One small bite a time. Break down the big idea or goal into the smallest unit possible and get to work at once.
- You don’t need permission. It can be difficult to detach oneself from the childhood societal condition of raising a hand in a classroom. It’s quite similar when it comes to testing things out. We want the whole word to scream at us that we can do it, but usually the best we get a soft murmur. Don’t fret. Just get started.
So how many chances do you give a baby to try walking before you tell it to give up? If you’re a reasonable person you generally let it get up and go until it figures it out. You protect it when it falls, encourage it when it’s down, and admire it for its willingness to continue. Treat your new ideas like the babies they are. Speak life into them, have faith in their success, and dust them off whenever you need to. And above all, keep getting them started.
Check out some of the project I’ve started and/or helped to start over the recently
Words on White (Social Art Movement)
Broadway Advocacy Coalition (Art’s based nonprofit)
Silent Renaissance (Arts event’s company)
PS: My background is in business and finance so starting anything art related is particularly awkward.
Books that helped me to get new things started:
