It’s been a while since I’ve written and this post will give you a hint as to why.

Starting something is always the hardest part — if you haven’t tried then you also haven’t yet failed. There’s vulnerability in trying and in starting something new; we expose ourselves to the potential for failure or rejection. Even now as I write this I have a nagging fear that not only will others judge my writing or my ideas, but also that future me will judge myself and my attempts at starting a blog. That I will look back and think — really? You called that writing?

But maybe instead of doubting my own efforts and those of others, I’ll embrace the fact that an attempt is just that — a willingness to begin and a courageous stab at learning something new. Because those that sit on life’s sidelines and ridicule others for trying are scared, they are not better than the rest of us. Why waste our time endlessly criticizing or worrying about the mistakes that are a necessary and natural part of learning? Let’s instead tune in to what want and just try already.

That is all to say, I’m at a moment of diving in to new adventures and of anticipating the icy cold water and my inevitable shiver and shock. I want to encourage you and me to be brave and to always try. To know that even if it doesn’t work out, at least there’s no what if.