The Beginner's Journey (Pt. 2)
The Only Way to Start is to Start
For months, I embodied a champion procrastinating perfectionist. Overanalyzing everything and drowning in indecision and self-doubt – that as me. Then, last week, my first Substack post went live (cue happy dance!). The week before, a conversation with a friend about starting this very blog, “The Compendium of Experiences,” spurred me on. I knew I had to follow through.
I’ve performed this dance many times before. It’d begin with an exciting idea, followed by the high of a friend’s enthusiastic response. But then, analysis paralysis would set in, and the idea would suffer neglect, gathering dust in the graveyard of good intentions.
This time, though, something felt different. The sum of that friend’s encouragement and a feeling of self-accountability lit a fire under me. Besides, the moment my Substack profile was up, it felt like Substack was on a mission: “Bombard Omi’s Email Till She Posts.” And that’s the story of how I met your mother.
One Day vs. Two Months of Overthinking
I did in one day what took two months of agonizing deliberation. My thoughts ranged from finding my writing style, brushing up on my grammar, to outright deciding not to start. And yet, it took one day to push past the mental roadblocks and get the ball rolling, even if I felt completely unprepared.
So what was the turning point? It was simply starting.
“The only way to start is to start,” my secondary school physics teacher used to say. It became my mantra – not just for challenging exams, but for life in general. Except, of course, when it came to anything uncomfortable or new. Then, that mantra was conveniently forgotten. I can still picture him at the board. With his chalk in hand, he’d turned towards the class and say it before diving into a problem, a reminder to just begin.
Is starting really that simple? Yes. But what about all those plans, the meticulous preparations I thought I needed? Well, those plans hadn’t gotten me anywhere so far. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate their usefulness.
“But I’m not ready!” – We’ve all been here. Truth is: you would probably never fell completely ready. Embrace the discomfort, my friend, and just do it! (Thanks, Nike)
Start Right Now
Stop waiting for the perfect time to start - it’s a myth. Whether it’s a Tuesday afternoon or a Friday evening, whenever you wake up is your morning. For all our sakes, put that pen to paper, draw that business plan, and hit record on that YouTube video. The world is waiting for what you have inside, or at least your world is.
Our brains are wired to avoid difficulty, hence the procrastination. But the moment you take that first step, momentum builds, and you find your flow. You realize it wasn’t as scary as you thought, you’ve successfully won one battle. Sure, there might be trickier steps that require you to learn as you go. But that’s okay.
The goal is to start.
Start Where You Are
I know I’ve been on a roll with the quotes but I have one more for you: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Okay, maybe two: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Start where you are, with what you have, and how you can. In my previous post, I admitted my obsession with the finished product and scorn for the process. But I didn’t talk about my ideal beginning. I fantasize about a specific aesthetic. Like the perfect journal to house my goals and the right atmospheric temperature to commence my world domination plans.
I made inconsequential things essential, living in a dream world instead of making it reality. Then, I remember Senior B, a brilliant, grounded, and fun girl three classes ahead in secondary school. I admired her academic success and her down-to-earth personality. To me, she had it all, until one day…
Our principal, during a motivational speech, mentioned Senior B’s name. He spoke about how he paid her family a visit after her father passed away. The sight that greeted him didn’t match the image of the student he knew. They lived in a cramped, dark space, with only one low stool serving as her reading table. She studied by candlelight and borrowed textbooks from classmates. Yet, she thrived in school.
That story was a powerful nudge. It taught me to look around, make do with what I have, and to stop waiting for ideal circumstances.
In 2019, fueled by Senior B’s story, I started my photography journey with an Infinix phone – nothing fancy, but it was mine. Most of my early pictures were shot on that phone and its successors.
That, my friends, is the power of starting where you are.
So, imagine if you really just started today, what would it be like? What creative project will you begin? What skill could you start developing? Take that first step and see what happens.
In the comments below, I'd love to hear your stories about starting somewhere unexpected. How did it change your life?