Just Start
In his book, Million Dollar Weekend, Noah Kagan highlighted the two biggest fears people have that hinder and derail them from creating their own businesses: (1) fear of starting and (2) fear of asking.
Looking at my very life, I found these two fears to be true hindrances, not only in starting a business but more so in starting anything in life, from your creative endeavors to your jobs and projects to your life in general — as a student, a parent, a child, and a person. The fear of starting grows from the idea that (1) you are not good enough, (2) you are not ready yet, or (3) you don’t want to fail. The fear of asking stems from the thought that (1) you will be rejected, (2) you will be laughed at and thought to be crazy, or (3) you will be looked at and judged as dumb because you should already know it.
As someone who would like to start some creative work and share things with the world, I found myself delaying them because I didn’t want to be seen as an imposter and a trying hard. Thoughts such as“Who is this person writing all these things?”, “Does he know what he was saying?”, and “He is not even good at writing.” have hammered me each day to delay writing. Aside from that, I often felt I didn’t know if what I was sharing was something valuable or if it was just part of the many ideas and insights that people already knew — why would people waste their time reading my stuff? But listening and reading to many writers, I came to realize that I will not know if I will not start. One of the most valuable insights I receive is that I JUST HAVE TO START. So here I am, starting.
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But why start?
One of the most important questions that I need to answer is the “why” in this journey. I know for a fact that every person has something to say and every idea matters. Each insight can help others think, converse, and reflect. As a teacher, I always find sharing ideas a fascinating experience because it helps me see my student’s contexts, understand their perspectives and values, and challenge each other’s worldview for better understanding that can lead to better living. Aside from that, I feel that sharing ideas can be an avenue to respond to inquiries and clarify confusion. Hopefully, as I share my ideas, I will be able to answer some pressing concerns and questions people have. That’s why I started.
But how to start?
Because of my fear of sharing, I started not only to doubt my abilities but also to question how to convey my message — imposter syndrome and perfectionism kicked in. However, when I learned about the challenge of Nicolas Cole to start writing without editing, it gave me that push to just start. I know I am not yet a great writer but I also know that I want to write and share my ideas. So I have to muster the courage to publish something online and just go away with perfection. Aside from hitting publish without editing, I also think of questions I encountered in my discussions with students and some points of reflection. I started to write with the goal of addressing my own concerns and give light to my student’s queries.
I still have the fear of starting, but even with this fear, I started.
Day 3.
