I know it’s been said countless times before, but I need the reminder so I’m going to say it again. And if you need a sign to start a task or make a lifestyle change in your life, this is the sign, and a reminder for you too.

I’ll start by repeating I love writing. Even though I share these posts, for the most part I write for myself. It is an outlet for me and my thoughts. I share them in case someone else needs to hear it as well. This blog is also a reminder for me to remember what I felt was important to share and to look back at the various places I have been in since writing. My point is that I thoroughly enjoy writing and this blog is something I’m proud of. Yet while knowing and feeling this way I still could not get myself to write a new post or edit my drafted ones. I am procrastinator at heart, but procrastinating something I actually enjoy, that is helpful for me, makes me ache out of guilt.

I kept asking myself why. Someone would bring up my blog and I’d say it had been a while since I have posted, but things are drafted. Still, I never made an effort to edit or post any of the drafts. The thought would cross my mind when I had some time to myself, and even then I was scared to come near it.

A part of this was the idea of perfection. I want to make sure what I am saying makes sense and that I fully stand behind what I am saying at the time I write it, and hopefully in the future. I want to make sure every word choice is intentional and my punctuation is correct. I read through the drafts over and over again thinking of more to add or what is over explained and needs to be cut down. The truth is that when you strive for perfection, and expect to actually grasp onto it versus making it a motivator, you are going to be working at it for a long while. This, like pretty much everything, is situational and may not always be a bad thing. In this case it was an obstacle. For me, striving for perfection was me making excuses for not writing and not posting because “it just wasn’t perfect or ready yet.”

The biggest reason I had been putting it off was that I sort of gave up on myself. I did not have the motivation because I convinced myself I was not sure how to word the things I wanted to say to effectively get my point across. Though that thought was valid, I let it dictate my reality in a way where I gave up before I even tried. I allowed myself to believe I would not be able to find the right words no matter if I tried or how hard I tried. That thought process led me to putting it off. I thought that the fitting words and phrases would magically appear in my brain and I’d write when I was ready. Now that I have made the discovery that I was lowkey giving up it’s brought me here again, putting in effort and making the first steps. And when you see this it’ll be a completed post.

So my message here is just do it. Nike has it as a slogan for a reason. It’s become cliche for a reason. It is so easy to get caught up in our own thoughts. It is so easy to make excuses for not doing what we say we want to do. It’s easy to be overly perfectionist that you end up wasting time. It can be so second nature that it becomes effortless and we don’t even realize we are talking ourselves out of what we want to do. We forget whatever it is we want to do is as simple as taking the first steps. I forgot going to the gym and exercising was as simple as stepping on an elliptical. I forgot reading was as facile as opening to the first page. I forgot writing was as uncomplicated as typing a couple of words. The rest follows and you can adjust on the way. This is your reminder, and mine, to just take the first steps in what we want and have planned. Just do it. You can do it.