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Starting Before I’m Ready

Empty dirt road with the word Start painted in the foreground. In the distance is a cloudy blue sky.
Photo credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Start Before You’re Ready, Already!

Have you heard the phrase “Start before you’re ready”?

A lot of high-profile entrepreneurs and influencers (like Gary Vaynerchuk) advise us to start before we’re ready.

When you struggle with perfectionism, feelings of inadequacy, and deep self-doubt, getting started doesn’t feel like a simple task.

You’re afraid to put yourself out there because you don’t feel good enough.

You think:

“What do I have to contribute?”

“I have nothing of value to offer.”

“I’m not an expert, so why would anyone want to hear what I have to say?”

These self-defeating thoughts run through my mind often.

As a result, I rarely create content.

I can procrastinate and make excuses with the best of ‘em

I “started” this blog in November 2019.

I got as far as purchasing my domain, signing up with a web-hosting site, and choosing the blog theme.

That’s it.

It’s been radio silence on the blog ever since.

For some reason (fear), once I got the blog, the urge to write and put myself out there disappeared.

For some reason (fear), I felt like I had nothing valuable or interesting to say.

Hm. How convenient.

How safe.

I’m not knocking feeling safe. I love feeling safe.

I’ve longed for stability and certainty for most of my life.

But how many things are certain in life?

And has staying safe made me happy?

No.

Starting the journey

So, here we are. A few days into the year 2020, and I’m finally getting around to writing my first blog post for Ripped Jeans Journey.

Even if I’m not ready.

If I wait to write the perfect introductory blog post, I’ll never get started.

If I wait to make my blog look pretty and find the “perfect” theme, I’ll never get started.

If I wait to have everything figured out first, I’ll never get started.

And, I’m very good at not getting started.

So, I’ll start and learn to accept that this blog is a work-in-progress.

So, I’ll start and learn to accept that I am a work-in-progress.

What to expect from Ripped Jeans Journey

Ripped Jeans Journey is a personal blog, so I’ll likely be sharing my thoughts and learnings on various topics that interest me such as the following:

  • Personal growth/self-improvement
  • Life, love, and relationships
  • Writing, creative writing, creative nonfiction

Let’s just see what happens, shall we? 🙂