Keep waiting, you'll reach nowhere
How many times did you want to do something but couldn't do it because of your fear of mistakes? How many times did you want to initiate change but couldn't really do it in the end?
It happens to all of us, doesn't it? At the end of the day, we let the fear in our minds take control. We hand over our steering wheels to the wicked friend, fear. Let me tell you something, your fear of mistakes will lead you nowhere. Let not the fear of mistakes ever tear you down. Each and every moment we waste thinking about doing something, but don't do it in the end, is a waste of time.
Just after you do something new, you might fail. You can't build the next big thing in a day. You can't write a book in a day. You can't build Rome in a day. What you can do is lay the first brick. You can lay the first brick so that you can lay another brick on top of it. Each day, you keep laying bricks on top of each other. You won't even know when you would have finished building the next big city. But you've got to start somewhere, don't you? You need to stop procrastinating and start doing it. If at any point in life you feel like not doing something just because you feel you're going to fail, then remember:
“The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.”
— Theodore Roosevelt
Did you learn to write the first time you hold a pencil in your tiny little hands? You didn't. You simply can't do anything on your first try. But you need to learn to do it and then you need to implement it. You don't really learn anything until you do it.
I had joined Steemit almost 2 months ago. But I could not get the nerve to post something until I felt ready. I didn't even try to comment on someone's post because I felt I was not ready. I wanted to learn 100% of the Steemit ecosystem before doing something with it. I started reading those guidelines over and over again but still, I didn't feel ready.
Then I realized, I'm going nowhere doing this. This is it. It has to end. Now is the time to start doing something about it. It's now or never. And yes. To my very surprise, I did it. I posted my first intro post in the most creative way I could think of. It's only when I published the first post I realized how amazing the Steemit community is. How welcoming people can be. That's why I'm doing posting again. And I'll keep doing it. Over and over again. period.
Life's like a long journey full of failures and successes. It's like driving on the highway. Sometimes you do need to slow down, or else, accidents occur. Everything you do doesn't have to be perfect. It certainly is not perfect. But that doesn't matter. Even if you have procrastinated for long, it's time you stop it. It's never too late to start.
Procrastination is too easy to do. Doing it is hard.
One of the great challenges of our age, in which the tools of our productivity are also the tools of our leisure, is to figure out how to make more useful those moments of procrastination when we're idling in front of our computer screens.
— Joshua Foer
By the way, I just quoted Joshua Foer. In case you don't know him then just know that he is a journalist with a primary focus on hard sciences and he was the 2006 U.S.A. Memory Champion. You can read more about him here on His Wikipedia Article.
And I urge you watch his Ted Talk. It's very inspiring and knowledgeable. Definitely worth watching.
Take inspiration from great people. We all need it. We need to pursue a cause that means something to us. Taking inspired action towards our goals we create momentum and move towards them. As we take the smallest step forward, our energy propels us in that direction, and the momentum carries us over the bumps in the road. So if you are new to Steemit and you are still thinking about making your first post, then don't think, do it. If you are a developer and you're thinking of learning a new language, then don't think, learn it. If you want to do something new, then don't think, just do it. Nike has got it right:
Just Do It.
Before I end, in case you are thinking, who's this new motivational speaker amidst us? Then let me tell you, I'm not a motivational speaker or anything like that. (I can't even motivate myself at times, much less motivate others), I'm simply sharing my feelings with you guys. And if you really feel motivated by this post, then I would consider this post successful. Because I attempted something new and I did it. At the end of the day,
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”
— Vincent van Gogh
Do read my next posts if you like this one. Please let me know if I've missed anything in the comments section below. I read each and every one of your comments.
