Just Begin
Having trouble starting something? Today's practice is an invitation to start small, but to just begin.
“Just start. Start slow if you have to. Start small if you have to. Start privately if you have to. Just start.” - James Clear, Atomic Habits
Do you know someone who seems able to begin things with ease? Someone who has an idea and simply starts moving toward it?
I am lucky to consider myself one of those people. At least most of the time.
Over the years I’ve started a marketing agency, an art business, herbalism school, a Substack, a backyard passionvine project, and now two books. Some of those endeavors flourished. Some served their purpose and came to an end. Looking back, I don’t regret beginning any of them.
Because beginning changes us. Beginnings are where the fun lies, and where the creativity flows.
We hold ourselves back by imagining that we need a complete plan before taking the first step. We overcomplicate. We wait until we have more time, more confidence, more certainty. But life rarely works that way. Clarity often arrives after we’ve begun. When we have taken steps in a direction, rather than sitting on the sideline. Nike has it right when they say Just. Do. It.
James Clear writes beautifully about this in Atomic Habits. One of his central ideas is that action creates momentum. He even suggests making the first step so small it can be completed in two minutes. Instead of deciding to become a runner, put on your running shoes. Instead of becoming an author or writing a chapter, write one sentence.
The first step isn’t about accomplishing the goal. It’s about becoming someone who begins.
Every meaningful journey begins with a single act. Are you ready to take yours?
Today’s Practice
Bring to mind something you’ve been meaning to begin. Perhaps it’s writing a letter. Planting a garden. Starting a meditation practice. Calling an old friend. Eating more nourishing food. Learning a language. Beginning the book that’s been sitting on your nightstand.
Now make the first step almost impossibly small.
Write one sentence.
Buy one plant.
Read one page.
Sit quietly for 3 minutes.
Then stop if you want to.
The goal today isn’t to finish. It’s simply to begin.
Integration
What have you been postponing because you’re waiting to feel ready or have the full vision?
What is the smallest possible first step?
Who might you become simply by acting as someone who begins?
What does pushing yourself into one small action feel like in your body? Where do you feel resistance? Can you breathe through that and take one small step forward?