Just…Begin!

I had been putting it off.  Dreading it.

Freelancing.

Before the book deal came my way, I spent my days as a freelance writer.  I had never written a book before and didn’t know how much I liked it better than working as an average hack.  Books, you see, make sense.  The writer forms an idea, researches, writes, edits, writes, and edits some more. Eventually, a book is born.

Freelancing is more like fishing.  Some days, I hit the mother load.  What a rush!  But other days, I can spend an entire day, and a whole bucket of bait and come up with absolutely nothing.

I, frankly, am too much of a control freak to be okay with that.  I don’t even gamble in Vegas.

Yesterday, I finally got down to the business of fishing/writing for a living once again.  I bit my lower lip, grabbed a cup of green tea, and sat myself down on the porch swing.  I told myself I had the best office in the world, and was fortunate to have the opportunity to earn a living doing what I love.  Then, I told myself to stay in my seat until my time was up.

And I just did it.  I looked at my best options.  Formed some ideas.  Sent out queries.

Then, I checked my e-mail about a hundred times over the course of the next several hours.  So far, there isn’t anything on the end of my hook, but I still feel like a weight has been lifted from me.  I feel better simply because I began.

I once heard that most of the fuel required for a journey into space is expended during lift off.  I think this is so true for just about every area of life.  Beginning is the hardest part.

I have been a swimmer for years.  Each year that passes I swim further, and get stronger.  I have found that no matter how many meters I swim the two most difficult moments are always the same.  The first is when my alarm goes off at 4:20 a.m.  The second is the moment when I stand on the edge of the pool, goggles and cap in place, just before I jump in the water.

It isn’t just exercise though.  It is everything!  The most difficult part of doing the laundry is sorting out the mountain of dirty clothes in the washroom floor.  The first lines of every story are the most challenging to write.

I wonder how much of the difference between extraordinarily successful people and the mediocre masses comes down to the self-disciple required to simply begin?

It is estimated Americans waste almost $12.9 billion every year on unused gym memberships.  It is just so much easier to talk and plan than get started, isn’t it?

The ancient wisdom of Proverbs 14:23 is still true- “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”

It has been my personal experience that any time I know the good I need to do and fail to do it, whether it is in the realm of self-care, spiritual discipline, my work, or even an act of kindness…I am miserable.

Life, you see, is found in the action.

God has called his children to be fully alive for the glory of God.  Today, let’s call on His Spirit for the courage, and strength to begin .