5 Reasons Why You Don’t Start Something New (and Why You Need To)

  

Do you ever wonder why you seem to procrastinate when it comes to starting something new? This is something that has been on my mind a lot lately, particularly when it comes to creating videos. It is something I needed to do but found myself procrastinating. I have realized 5 reasons why you don’t start anything new. 

 

 

 

5 Reasons You Don’t Start

 

1. Lack of Knowledge

  

One reason we don’t get started with something new is a lack of knowledge. It is hard to get started if you feel like you don’t know enough about it. I have noticed this is especially true when technology is involved.

 

My school district has started the year with online learning. Many people were reluctant to start because they felt like they didn’t know enough about the technology.

 

What I am learning is that it doesn’t matter how much you know, there is always more to learn.

 

Honestly, it seems that the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know. The great thing about a lack of knowledge is that you can always learn more.

 

You just have to start!

 

2. Fixed Mindset

 

Many people don’t start something new because they believe they can’t do it.

  

We tell our kids that they shouldn’t be afraid to try hard things and that they need to have a growth mindset. However, something seems to happen as adults. Adults seem to think that having a growth mindset doesn’t apply to them. 

 

While many people have heard about the different mindsets, let me give you a quick rundown in case this is new for you. Someone who has a fixed mindset believes that a person is born with whatever skills and intelligence they will have. They believe that you can’t learn, grow, and change.

  

A person with a growth mindset believes that the brain has no limits. They believe everything can be learned, changed, and improved. 

 

After hearing those definitions, it seems like everyone would say that of course, they have a growth mindset. Actions seem to tell a different story.

 

When facing starting something new, or wanting to improve something you are already doing, you have the perfect opportunity to practice what we teach our students. If you are not starting because you think you don’t know enough and you can’t learn it, you have a fixed mindset. This type of thinking WILL keep you from moving forward and learning what you need to know.

 

However, if you have a growth mindset, you will keep learning as you go. We know it won’t be perfect the first time and there will be mistakes. Even though it can be frustrating, you CAN do it!

 

You just have to start!

 

 3. Perfectionism

 

Perfectionism frequently keeps us from starting something new. The battle is real right here.

  

A lot of factors come in to play with perfectionism. Fear of failure one reason a perfectionist might not start something. If we don’t believe we can do it perfectly, we won’t even start.

 

The problem is that we will do very little in our life if we are always waiting until we can do it perfectly. Rarely will something be done perfectly the first time. 

  

Perfectionists are often their own harshest critic. This leads to or is in conjunction with, a fear of other people’s opinions.

 

The struggle is real for me when it comes to this. Since I am critiquing my own work so critically, I think everyone is doing the same. This makes me nervous and reluctant to start something that I think I might not be good at. I put off getting started with something because I think I need more time to “perfect” it before I can launch out.

  

Additionally, it is hard to let others know you are starting something new. Truth be told, this blog is one of the things I put off. I had considered starting a blog for a long time, but I was too nervous to start because I wasn’t sure I would be good at it.

 

There is so much to learn, I will never know everything about how I can make it better. That is one of the fun parts though.

 

Fear of what others will think is also a real thing. I didn’t tell any of my friends I even started the blog. The only people I told about it were my family and that took a while.

 

I am learning that there will always be ways to improve things, but it can’t get better if you never start it!

 

4. Lack of Time

 

A lack of time is also a real concern when considering starting something new.

 

The reality is that it will take time to learn a new skill or work on improving something. However, we (I am really talking about myself here) like to use a lack of time as an excuse for not getting started.

 

This seems to show up when it is something you feel like you have failed at before or something you know will take an exceptional amount of work. This shows up when I am trying to get going on my health goals. 

 

Without trying to sound harsh, we all have the same number of hours in a day. If we measured the amount of time we procrastinate fretting about getting started and saying we don’t have time, we could have started the task and probably been very successful at it.

 

For example, I always feel like I don’t have time for meal prep. However, I can easily spend an hour or so looking for recipes or watching videos on how other people are doing meal prep.

 

If I had just used that time to accomplish the actual task of meal prepping, I would have set myself up for success.

  

You just have to start!

5. Comparison

 

Comparison is another stumbling block for many people. We will often refrain from starting something new because we don’t believe it will measure up to what someone else is doing. What we forget is that everyone has to start somewhere.

It is unrealistic to think that someone just starting something is going to start at the same level as the person who has been doing it for 5, 10, or 15 years. 

If we are going to compare ourselves to something, we should compare it to ourselves. Are we doing better today than we were the day before? If so, then we are making progress and that is the ultimate goal.

Neglecting to start because you don’t think that you are going to measure up to that other person, is not a good reason.

You just have to start

Are you stuck?

 

If you find that you are stuck and not starting that new project, examine the situation and see if a lack of knowledge, fixed mindset, perfectionism, lack of time, or comparison might be getting in the way. Once you analyze the problem, it will allow you to address it and take steps to overcome it. 

If you aren’t careful, it can be easy to use excuses to avoid starting something that is a big project and seems challenging.

 

 Conclusion

 

All five of these stumbling blocks have gotten in my way at various times in my life. They have held me back from starting things that would have had long-term benefits

While I can’t go back and change the past, I can look at the future and commit to starting new things. Knowledge can be gained. Skills can be improved. It doesn’t have to be perfect the first time I do it. I can find time somewhere in my schedule. I don’t have to compare it to what others are doing and you don’t have to either.

You just have to start!