Photo by Sammie Chaffin from Unsplash

There’s something innately magical about the fact that you can do anything you set your mind to. Trying something new is one of those moments when you realize that there’s more to life than what you’ve already known, experienced, and witnessed. It’s the act of going over those borders, the walls that separate you from your wildest imagination — that’s going to make you unstoppable.

 

The beginning of an idea.

The beginning of execution. 

The beginning of manifestation. 

 

If you aspire to create a meaningful legacy in your life, you can’t make it come true unless you start. You can’t dream to live the kind of lifestyle you want to be in if you don’t walk through the mud on rainy days. You can’t harvest the fruit if you don’t endure the scorching heat of the sun while planting. The bottom line is, you can’t proceed to the finish line without taking the first step.

Starting from scratch isn’t always the best part, but it is the most crucial part of the journey. The beginning of something may not be able to determine its outcome but it does say something about how it’s going to go. This doesn’t necessarily mean you must already have everything completely planned out before you start, but it is important to strive to set a mark on your first try.

All successful people — the personalities you idolize, the artists you dream to become one day, the people who inspire you to bet on your abilities, all started somewhere. Contrary to what most people speculate, they have gone through numerous hardships of life because they were not given the privilege to start. Finding and developing their talent was not an easy path, but they chose to grab every opportunity they can to capitalize on what they’re born to do.

Unfortunately, many talents and potentials are squandered because of the incessant need to silence their fear to start. Don’t let that be you. We want reassurance and security; some sort of backup plan to come to fix the problem when things go the opposite of what we planned. We want a safety net in case our minds had not anticipated worse outcomes. This is where our dreams start ripping to shreds because even before we had started, we already let the pessimism inside us come between our dreams.

 

WHAT GOOD COMES OUT OF TRYING SOMETHING NEW? 

 

When you try something new, you’re opening your mind to fresh ideas, new perspectives, different ways of thinking. You don’t limit yourself to the things you already know or have known since you were born. You’re drawing paths to tread to that lead to another direction, a road less taken, a road your practical self would never walk on. That’s when you start living.

Your courage will bring you to new heights; your future will be expounded to even greater possibilities. When you have the eagerness to try something aside from what you’re already familiar with, you will realize that what you know isn’t even half of what you’re yet to know. Isn’t life better when you spend days learning more about it? In this big, wide world, a small spectacle like you will appreciate the wonders of life even more.

 

WHY DON’T WE WANT TO TRY SOMETHING NEW? 

 

People can get too complacent and comfortable about what they already know. They think the knowledge they hold is enough to get them through life. But unless you try to do something, get out of your comfort zone, you will never grow. You will be stuck knowing the same things because your ego tells you that you should only stick to what you know. Your ego will convince you not to explore more skills and indulge in different activities and crafts because you’re putting yourself at risk of failure.

You don’t want to start something new because society gets to dictate what you’re good at how good you are. We don’t want to open our doors for more opportunities because it’s better to be protected from being vulnerable to shame and judgment than following our dreams and failing anyway. 

 

4 OBSTACLES THAT ARE KEEPING YOU FROM GETTING STARTED:

 

YOU ARE WAITING FOR THE RIGHT TIME 

 

You are not getting started because you think NOW is not the right time, and you believe success has everything to do with perfect timing. You hold back your dreams because you keep insisting that if you start at the right time, the outcome will be likely to turn in your favor than if you would start anytime.

You overthink the things you have to do, falsely believing that if you’re not prepared, you’ll not get anywhere. Sorry to burst your bubble, but there is no right time. If you’re waiting for the circumstances to turn in your favor, then you wouldn’t achieve anything. There is a saying that goes, “The best time to start something is yesterday while the other best time to start something is today.”

 

YOU WANT THE REWARD WITHOUT THE RISKS  

 

While thinking about your plans, you’re already looking for a way out. You’re looking for the easiest and fastest route to guaranteed success without putting in more effort than required. You aim for instant gratification because that’s what you feel that you need right now, and ironically, this is what’s delaying you. If you think about it, this is an issue of entitlement. This is your ego saying that you can skip the struggle, trouble, failure, and all the other pivotal parts of success to get to the end goal right away.

By all means, you want to avoid the hardship of the journey because you don’t want to go through with it. You don’t respect nor love the entire learning process, and this is the reason you will never attain the success you dream of. Unless you discipline your mind to accept the realities of life, you will never change your life. You will still be the same person as you were five years ago, and that is the scariest thing that’s ever going to happen to you.

 

YOU’RE SCARED TO INVEST FINANCIALLY 

 

Most times, you need to sacrifice some of your savings to start. There are some situations where you need to invest money into a specific skill or craft to become proficient with it. It’s understandable when people give up because they don’t have the resources to do it, but this kind of mindset will not get you far. If you’re in it to win it, you need to become flexible in finding ways to get money quickly to invest in that dream of yours.

Don’t be one of those people who easily give up when money becomes an issue. Money comes and goes. You have the strength and stamina to hustle and look for side hustles while showing up to your 9-5. There’s no shame in juggling four jobs just to work again for another if that’s what you want to do. It needs patience and compromise to get things done; no one else can do it for you.

 

YOU LACK VISION 

 

One apparent reason you’re not trying something new is you lack a vision of what you really want in life. Everyone in your life, including yourself, has witnessed all the mistakes you’ve done in the past and you don’t want it to happen again, and this has not only ruined your self-confidence but also made you fear how to take risks, how to live life.

You lack the drive to get your life  running; you lack the intention to get out of bed and start the day the way you need to. You’re still searching for ways to cope with esteem by feeding your ego in places where you’re the man. You’re afraid to step out of your little territory and conquer the world like you’re meant to.

 

WHAT IS SCARY ABOUT TRYING SOMETHING NEW?  

 

It’s human nature to fear the unknown; the potential of risk and loss. We’re scared of what we don’t know because we wouldn’t know what to expect and how to react. Our minds are making up unlikely scenarios that do nothing but cultivate fear into our ideas and decisions. These are the four most common reasons we find trying something new scary: 

 

 

1. Judgment. We fear what people would think about our eagerness to learn this new skill or to try out a sport that is completely unfamiliar to us. In our minds, they have this database of our strengths and weaknesses. If they see something that contradicts their information about you, they would laugh and ridicule at our attempt of even trying. 

 

 

2. Fear of failure. For most people, there is nothing scarier in trying new things than to risk failing. Going through all the trouble of researching, learning, practicing a new skill over again, and knowing that the possibility of failure is inevitable is daunting. We can wake up early, exercise, do all the tips they say, yet still fail. 

 

 

3. Pressure. When we start doing something, we feel the external pressure of someone watching us. We think that when we start a side hustle or start putting up an online business, we are immediately in the spotlight. This is one of the reasons it’s not strategic to share your goals publicly because it will place unwanted attention on yourself.

 

 

4. Expectation. We expect ourselves to be good at something. We prioritize more on speed so we correlate it to results. When we don’t get the results we desire, we think it’s not for us. We would get disappointed and discouraged to continue learning this new skill or sideline and eventually, we will give up on it.

 

 

5 PRACTICAL WAYS TO OVERCOME YOUR FEAR OF STARTING:

 

INSPIRE YOURSELF WITH THE STORIES OF OTHERS 

 

It’s always daunting to be the “new girl” of something. Being a beginner means you’re putting yourself up for the show, inviting everyone, experienced or inexperienced, to evaluate your performance, attitude, and the likelihood of making a name in that craft according to their version of “good.” It’s terrifying to be in that place where all eyes are on you. Looking at other people’s stories will make you more at ease with what you’re going to expect.

The living stories of those who came before you are going to serve as your guide and source of inspiration when you feel stuck along the way. If you hear the stories of other people, why they were doing it in the first place, it’s possible that you, too, will remember who you’re doing this for. You will remember why this slight eagerness to take on a new challenge even came across your mind in the first place. You will believe that you were led here for a reason.

 

ESTABLISH AN OPEN MIND 

 

When you practice and maintain that openness and humility for yourself, you’re preparing your emotional and mental state for what’s to come. People approach a skill in various ways depending on interest and commitment. Some people try something new just to experience it, and not being too serious about accomplishing something like joining competitions. Some are in it to win it; they want to build a reputation around that craft or sport.

Regardless of your point of view, what matters is accepting that you’re going to fail a million times before you get it but it doesn’t make your chances of succeeding any less. It’s good to have an end goal in mind but be sure to know what that goal is and how you plan on achieving it. Don’t pressure yourself into focusing too much on accomplishing humongous results in the preliminary phases of your journey. Have the courage to break your limits but not to the extent of defeating the purpose of trying.

 

PREPARE AND PREPARE 

 

It can be unnerving to figuring out what you should be aware of when trying something new. Although we wouldn’t know how the future would turn out, this doesn’t mean we can’t prepare for it. If you’re interested in learning a new sport or intellectual skill, have the initiative to do your research and find the answers to your questions. Be organized with your time in learning, digesting information, and putting the concepts into practice. Make sure to take it to step by step as you can’t have it all figured out right away.

Furthermore, be grounded in the present, meaning don’t dwell so much on the past nor the future. You need to understand that preparation is key, so the more you concentrate on what you can do right now, the more you can be in control of what to expect in the future. This comes by respecting the learning process, including the unpredictability of its highs and lows. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but what matters is your choice to come back up. Remember that you wouldn’t become a master only in a few years; it needs a life-long commitment and grit. 

 

FOCUS ON THE DAILY OBJECTIVES, NOT THE OUTCOME 

 

If you tie success to the fulfillment of your desired results, you will never overcome your fear of trying something new. You will be so caught up with achieving that goal even when it’s logically impossible, even if you pull all-nighters all week to finish your tasks. Sometimes, when you’re too fixated with validating your ambitions, you forget the other factors that play along with the equation, like time and serendipity, if you may.

However, if you set daily and weekly goals, by chopping your endless to-do list in reasonable time frames and deadlines, then you can finish all of them without feeling burned out. Then, not only will you feel motivated every day, but you will also feel that sense of accomplishment that will keep you going. This eagerness to learn and to do the work is what’s going to take you places.

 

THINK ABOUT WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU 

 

Sometimes, to overcome your fear of trying something new, you need to think carefully about what good this skill or craft does to you. You have to think of the benefits and losses that will come from choosing that new hobby. What will you gain from it? How will your life change for the better? What will be compromised or jeopardized while you do this?

You need to practice the art of self-awareness by meditating on what you prioritize in life and how and why you urgently need it. You have to be motivated with the fact that it takes tedious, far steps to become the best version of yourself, no matter how daunting. When you finally decide that learning this skill will be good for your personal growth, your fear to start will be outweighed by your relentless pursuit for growth and development. 

CONCLUSION: 

 

We only have one life to live, and every day is meant to be spent creating the future you deserve. Don’t waste the opportunity of being able to try something new because we’re too lazy and scared of uncertainty. Don’t hold yourself back from experiencing real growth, friendships, and breakthroughs because of the invisible obstacles that you plant in your mind.

When there’s uncertainty, there’s no way of telling what exactly will happen but you do it anyway because it’s the only way to move forward. Even if you’re not precisely sure this direction is the right path for you, take the adventure anyway. You either win or learn, but you tend to ignore the latter because it’s often disguised as a “loss.” If you’re willing to change your life for the better, you will do what it takes to make something happen beautiful in your life. True courage is tested not when you’re afraid but when you take affirmative action even when you are.

 

 

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson