A few weeks ago I stepped on the scale for the first time since moving in with my mother-in-law. My waistline has suffered an attack from the combination of hospitality, snack availability and the Filipino culture tagline “eat, eat!”
Wow! I had no idea how much weight had crept onto my frame over the last months. Just a week before we had joined our local YMCA and the number staring up at me was the kick in the pants I needed to take exercising seriously.
As I begin journeying back towards health, the mantra that has helped me persist in both my exercising and my writing: this is the beginning.
When I struggle to type words or wonder what the outcome will be: This is the beginning. [Tweet that]
I won’t know where the road will lead if I never take the first step. When I look in the mirror during a workout class and wish I was stronger and less fluffy: This is the beginning.
The acceptance of a new beginning gives me strength and comfort to keep moving. This is not the end. This is the beginning. [Tweet that]
The first line of Chaim Potok’s novel In the Beginning has stuck with me over the years.
All beginnings are hard.
Recognizing the opportunity and gift of a beginning makes it easier to muster the strength to push through. We intuitively know that beginnings are hard because they mean change.
As I read the stories of successful writers one thread runs throughout them all: persistence.
They began writing before anyone noticed them or their work. They labored invisibly because the work nourished them. They could not imagine a life without the work. When they ceased to write, ideas began to haunt them, begging to be put down on paper.
The way to move forward is simple, begin.
Although the path is simple, thousands of people will never move past the idea stage because they are too afraid to begin. [Tweet that]
Today I am pledging to myself that I am beginning. This is the place to start. Today. Now.
I have no idea what my body or my writing will look like in three months, but I am committed to doing the work. Beginnings are hard, but not impossible.
I’ve found it helpful to have a few close friends to share the journey with, both writing and exercising. It’s easier to begin with others; we inspire and encourage one another. We confess that it is hard and yet we keep moving.
Is there something you’ve been wanting to begin? Can you begin today?
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In this world of instant gratification, starting on such a long journey can feel daunting. The path, as you said, is so paradoxical: SIMPLE yet HARD! Way to keep at it one foot at a time on both fronts, Deanne!
Thank you Sarah! Yes one foot at a time :0) Or as Bob in “What About Bob” so enthusiastically declares, “BABY STEPS!!!!!”