Let yourself be a beginner.

Sitting at your desk, pens and paper out.

You scribble a sentence, then cross it out.

You scribble again. Cross it out again.

Maybe you do it another time.

And then another.

You have a clear idea in your head—or so you think.

But the moment you start putting it onto paper, a planner, or a notepad, the direction starts to blur.

The certainty you started with slowly turns into doubt.

The enthusiasm begins to dim.

Why?

What could possibly be the reason for this reaction?

Is it because you're scared the outcome will be far from what you imagined?

The fear of judgement—even before you've been judged.

The feeling that you might be perceived in ways you didn't even know were possible.

And suddenly, you pull away from getting started.

The disparity between what you imagined and what you're actually able to produce becomes so uncomfortable that avoidance feels easier.

Looking like a complete beginner feels embarrassing.

So avoidance becomes your coping mechanism.

Because allowing yourself to start badly feels almost unbearable.

And then comes the guilt.

The guilt of knowing you could have started.

The guilt of wondering why you didn't.

In the hopes of matching someone else's 100, you give up at your 0.

The brain really does everything it can to protect you.

Even if protecting you means keeping you away from the very goals and dreams you want.

It doesn't want you to look like a beginner.

It doesn't want you to look like someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

It doesn't want you to be judged.

It doesn't want you to be perceived negatively.

It doesn't want you to look like someone who doesn't have it in you.

But the gnawing guilt of watching your days—and eventually your life—pass you by becomes unbearable.

So you muster up the courage to start.

Even without knowing exactly what you're doing.

You push through the discomfort.

You make yourself begin.

You show up for a day.

Maybe even a week.

And then...

You feel lost.

Because there is no clear direction anymore.

It was so easy to plan everything in your head.

Now that it's time to make it tangible, you realise it was much easier said than done.

Your inexperience starts to show.

Your desire to be flawless—to be acknowledged in a competitive world—gets challenged.

And that feeling of inadequacy makes you feel small in your own body.

So your brain starts pulling you back again.

Trying to hide.

Trying to protect you.

And suddenly, you're stuck.

And that feeling of being stuck makes you feel even more behind in life.

You start feeling miserable all over again.

Maybe you don't want to go back to the same regular jobs that have been sucking the soul out of you.

The thought of returning to the same environment you've been trying so hard to leave feels crushing.

But at the same time, nothing seems to be coming from the thing you've always wanted to do.

You're putting in effort without seeing positive results yet.

And that uncertainty makes you anxious to your bones.

Then anxiety gets ahead of you.

So you go back to the old ways.

Doomscrolling for hours.

Daydreaming about making it big.

Desperately wanting to get out of the same old place you've already outgrown.

And the gap between expectation and reality starts eating you alive.

If you're someone going through this, maybe this is something you need to hear.

HANG ON IN THERE.

You're probably thinking—

What the hell?

That's it?

Just hang on in there?

Nothing more to add?

Honestly?

Maybe not.

Because if you give up now, you might never give yourself the chance to return to that dream again.

You might feel motivated one day and completely demotivated the next.

But does that mean you throw away everything you've worked towards?

No.

You push through.

You hang on by hooks or crooks.

Your dream doesn't have to be perfectly clear.

But your desire for it has to be strong enough to keep you going.

So start.

Start badly.

Start flawed.

Start cringy.

Start imperfect.

But start.

Even on the days when your brain decides to give up on you—

start and make.

Let yourself experience what being a beginner actually feels like.

Improve as you go.

Even by 1%.

Because one day, when you look back, you may realise that refusing to shy away from being a beginner was exactly what allowed you to become the best version of yourself you've ever known.

So...

Are you ready to be a beginner?