When should you start?

By Kerryn Vaughan

27th January 2022

Well, there’s a short answer and a long answer.

The short answer is - now.

The long answer is - now, because life’s too short.

So as you can see, the right time to start is NOW.

I can’t tell you how many people I chat with or work with who ask the same question - ‘when should I start?’.

The problem is, most people wait for others to give them permission but that’s not how life works. You have to give yourself permission and you have to be prepared to do consistent work.

The other thing that holds people back is a fear that if they begin their project, goal, idea etc, then they have to give up everything else. Not true.

Don’t get me wrong, some people do give up their security and dive in head first and go hard. For them this works, but it’s not for everybody. For most, this isn’t the best option. And it’s never OK to compare yourself with the next person and say ‘I should be doing that’.

I wrote a good blog about comparisons last week!

But we shouldn’t give up either.

Too often we look at our long list of responsibilities - mortgage, car repayments, food, utilities, school costs, fuel - and take a giant defeated sigh. ‘How can I possibly create the dream I want when I have all this hanging over my head?’. Yep, I get it.

So I want to encourage you to do it the safe way. Start now but start small.

If you want to be a writer for a world class magazine but can’t throw yourself all in - start a blog and put up one article a week and build slowly from there.

If you want to start a book keeping business but can’t leave the job you have, find just one client.

If you want to start a coaching business, start with just one person.

I can’t stress enough the power of one.

If you look at these examples and still find excuses not to start, then maybe it’s not about the time or the money. Maybe it’s about fear and self-doubt. I work with a lot of people and these two things trump everything else. 

I’ve heard so many reasons why a person can’t start now, but once we unpack it, self-doubt and fear are right there under the surface clinging on like horrid leeches!

You can only beat self-doubt by taking action and proving to yourself that you CAN, and you can only beat fear the same way. Everything is about action, but you have to start.

Your steps can be so tiny that they barely make a dent, but momentum starts simply because these tiny steps actually exist.

So I’ll say it again - life’s too damn short! We only get one crack at it in this body, so go for it. 

Start small but start now.

In one year will you wish you did, or be glad you did?

Kerryn Vaughan is the author of ‘Magnificent Kids!’ and ‘Get Off The Bench!’, founder of One Planet Classrooms, co-founder of Girls With Hammers, and host of Get Off The Bench Podcast.

Kerryn is also a DISC ADVANCED® accredited consultant.