Start Something New Today

A new year, a new chance to shine brightly

My first positive word of 2020 is “start”. The first day of a new year and a new decade is the ideal time to start something new.

Be inspired by the words of Irish poet John Anster in his free translation of German writer Johann Wolfgang van Goethe’s Faust¹:

Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute — what you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Only engage and then the mind grows heated — begin it, and the work will be completed!

It’s true, isn’t it? Sometimes the hardest part is starting. We wonder if we should do this or that. If we’re good enough. If we’ll have good results. If we’ll be liked (or hated) for doing it.

So, we hesitate. We think maybe we’ll start tomorrow. But tomorrow there is more hesitancy, more excuses, more delay. This kind of thinking doesn’t get us anywhere. It doesn’t move us forward at all. It keeps us stuck in a rut.

The important thing is to start. Don’t worry whether it’s the right thing to do. If you think you’d enjoy doing it, then it is the right thing to do.

Do it just for yourself, no one else. See what happens. Life is an adventure but you’ll never know what might have been if you don’t make a start and move in the direction your heart is telling you to.

Shine brightly like a star

There is a “star” in the word “start” and that star is you. You are unique. There has never been anyone like you before and, when you’re gone, there won’t be anyone like you again.

Shine like the star you are. Be yourself and express yourself in the way that’s best for you. No one can tell you what that is, because they aren’t you.

So, follow your intuition and your dreams. Make a start today by taking just one small step. See where it leads you on this amazing journey that is your life.

Reference

¹ What You Can Do, or Dream You Can, Begin It; Boldness Has Genius, Power, and Magic in It