Starting

Starting is always the hardest part. No matter what it is, writing, working out, or making any change to your life. Talk is easy, talk is cheap, talk is not action, talk is excuse. Starting is hard, it is action, it takes testicular fortitude. Starting means putting your foot down, drawing a line in the sand and refusing to go backwards. Starting isn’t for everyone; it involves a lot of change, change in how you approach life, work, free time and your goals in life.

For me starting involves three phases, Social, work and health.

Social: I need to force myself to get into the habit of writing. I go through phases were I either write a lot or not at all. I need to start writing at least twice a week, even if what I write isn’t good enough to publish it’s the practice and routine that is important. I have a lot to write about, just haven’t been disciplined to actually sit down and write. My grandpa always tells me that I’d be a very good writer if I ever decided to write.

Work: I need to start putting my learning above everything else. This doesn’t mean ignoring things, it means prioritizing my day to maximize learning experiences and minimizing wasted time. I have been given a great opportunity to learn, and if I don’t push to be involved in decision making and brain storming then I’m doing myself a disservice and not taking advantage of the opportunity that I’ve been given. I need to find a balance for my everyday workload that benefits me more.

Health: This is a two-part phase; it deals with both mental health and physical health. I feel like my brain is shrinking and my gut is growing at an inverse relationship, so I need to feed my brain and work out my body. I need to expand my knowledge, to do so I need to read a lot more. I need to put more into my brain and work it so it stays sharp. For the physical part, as much as I dislike running (Somewhere between the St. Mary’s basketball team and Justin Beiber) I have to start doing it more. All I need to do is stop making excuses about the rain, about how tired I am and just do it. If I don’t do this soon, my 20-year-old self will appear and kick my ass for getting fat.

So for me, starting starts now!