“I will not let a lack of knowledge prevent me from doing something I set out to achieve.”
This is a line I have been trying to live by recently.
Most people do not enjoy embarrassing themselves publicly. We do not like being judged, looking inexperienced, or feeling like we do not know what we are doing.
I understand that completely. But I also think we sell ourselves short on what we are truly capable of becoming.
There have been many things I wanted to pursue but stopped myself from starting because I did not have the entire plan laid out. I did not know the correct way to begin, so I convinced myself I was not ready.
The reality is that everyone was a beginner at some point.
Professors once struggled to understand their subject. Athletes once struggled with the basics of their sport. Successful business owners once had no customers, experience, or certainty that their plans would work.
Nobody begins as an expert.
Recently, I set out to create a run club and build a community around it. It had been on my mind for a while, but I kept pushing the idea away because of fear, judgment, and procrastination disguised as preparation.
I told myself I needed to know more. I needed a better plan. I needed to understand the “right” way to start.
Eventually, I decided I was not going to let a lack of knowledge prevent me from beginning.
So I just began.
I created the club, invited people to show up, and started building the community one run at a time. I still do not have everything figured out, but the club is already growing and reaching more people.
That would not have happened if I had waited until I felt completely prepared.
You do not need the entire plan or every step figured out. You just need enough courage to take the first one.
Whatever you have been thinking about starting, stop waiting until you feel like an expert.
Start as a beginner.
Just begin.
D.K.