“You Just Have to Start”: Taking the First Step in Your Creative Process
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
I have a loooong “to-do list.”
But I’m only one person, and I also work full-time.
The distance between what I want to do and what I can physically do is considerable. If I let myself be guided by that distance, I would probably quit. But I don’t.
Start Small
This is what I do instead: I remind myself that all that really matters is to start with a small task. If I work every day, or even every week, on small tasks of a larger project, by the end of one month—or half a year—I will have something complete.
When time permits, I focus on one project as much as possible. When I get tired, I move on to another small task of a different project. By the end of a period of time, I will have two different projects done.
Keep Momentum
If I leave a project midway, I make sure to know exactly where to start when I come back to it. This way, I don’t waste time or energy deciding what to do next.
And if I always have at least one project midway, I will never find myself without inspiration.
This is what “You just need to start” means to me. Once you start, the good feelings generated by starting and keeping your commitment to your intentions will keep you moving forward.
Follow Your Heart
I don’t do everything I write in my notebook-length “to-do list.” Sometimes, I even abandon projects that no longer excite me.
But there are things that grow out of our hearts. These are the things we find the strength and energy to complete—and enjoy the process while working on them.
The Creative Process
Not everyone will find meaning in these thoughts. Some may ask, “What for?”
But kindred souls who understand the change of inner state that creating one’s soul work fosters will agree: there is nothing more pleasurable or powerful for achieving happiness, glory, and ecstasy than the creative process.
And all we need to do is start. By writing the first word, making the first line, placing the first mark…
When we start, we invite all the unrealized potential into existence.
This is one of the phrases from my book Creative Soul and from the prompts of the Creative Soul Journal. For more inspiration, you can find a fun sticker in my Etsy store or here in my website:
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