Fears and Commitments

I was thinking about fears recently.

The thing about fears is that most of the time you just have to face them in order to get over them. Within reason, of course.

Exercising or getting a gym membership? Just pick one and go.

Making friends? Introduce yourself to someone and see how it works out.

Talking to a friend about an issue going on? Just say it, even if your voice shakes and the words don't seem coherent.

The first step is often the hardest part.

The next? Following through.

I was watching an online course about writing today and the instructor, Hannah Brencher, mentioned something along the lines of "we're good at starting, but not so much with finishing." It's true.

I have eight million ideas and I'll jump into all of them, but then I get bored or I lose gumption and I stop. Then, I jump to the next thing. Because it's fun when something is new and exciting. Like the beginning of a relationship. A new job. A new city. It's all fresh. It's full of possibility. Until you hit a wall and you get to the hard parts. Suddenly, it's not so fun anymore.

There's something to be said about working through the "boring" phase. The days when it's not so exciting. Or you don't agree. On the days when you aren't getting praise. When it's kind of messy or just plain sucks.

You keep showing up. You fight for the things that matter. You start somewhere and see where it goes. But, the worst part is sitting on your ideas and not giving them a shot? Sitting on the couch, watching Netflix, instead of working on that project or telling that friend you're sorry. Stop waiting. Stop fearing. Start DOING.

~shelby

#Life #writing #hardstuff #Fears #followthrough #Doing