Just start.

Don't know how? Read on

At Heart Leap, I explore how to build a happy, creative, and simple life. At 9 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, I host ‘happy writing hours’ for paid subscribers. It’s for anyone who is trying to write a book, start a Substack, or just have a little accountability for their writing practice. We chat for 5 minutes or so, and then we write quietly together for the rest of the hour. It’s strangely comforting and motivational to have a cohort of writers to support you and write alongside you. I also run monthly master classes on motivation and inspiration.

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“A year from now you may wish you had started today.” Karen Lamb

My Heart Leap Universe is about beginning again, about starting to build from scratch – be it a life or a book or a new relationship or a new business.

(I wish I wasn’t doing all of them at the same time 😱)

At the beginning it feels so overwhelming.

You don’t know where to start.

You are scared of failing.

You are scared of getting it wrong.

You are scared that you will splat on the floor in front of everyone and make a fool of yourself.

You feel you are not strong enough to risk your heart again.

You feel you are not strong enough to risk your dreams again.

You feel that you are a fool to even try.

You’re scared that you will end up sad and alone and eating cat food when you’re 80.

You’re scared that everyone else is doing it right and you’re insane for trying to do it differently.

(And yes, I feel and have felt some and all of those fears some of the time.)

What’s the point?

But then I always come back to this…we don’t know how long we’ve got so we might as well do what we really want to do and be with who we really want to be with and take risks and experiment and go in the direction of our dreams.

Because otherwise - what’s the point of it all?

Yes, we might fail and we might get our heart broken or might end up not quite ending up in the place we thought.

But at least we are living.

At least we are trying.

At least we are trying to build a life that works for ourselves.

At least we are learning and growing.

We are being brave.

We are focussing our attention on something that matters to us.

We are building a life on our terms.

So how do you start?

It helps me not to think in absolutes.

It helps me to think of any new project as an experiment

• Let me explore the terrain.  

• Let me discover what works and what doesn’t.

• Let me try things out in real life – and see how it feels.

So I sign up to a dating app or I try pitching to a new media outlet or I join a pitching clinic to pitch my book to an agent.

And then see what happens.

I take baby steps.

I see how I feel.

• Sometimes it feels awful. (You do fail/you are rejected/you get it horribly wrong/someone laughs and points)

• Sometimes, there’s just a void and tumbleweed.

• Sometimes, you get immediate feedback and you notice a breadcrumb trail to follow through the magical forest beyond the enchanted wall.

But whatever happens, you can feel proud of yourself for trying.

For not being frozen by fear.

For trying to move forward.

For taking a step even though you’re afraid.

For being brave enough to give it a try versus staying in a fur-lined pit of despair moaning to anyone who will listen but not doing anything different.

When you take action, the way you feel about yourself changes.

• You are no longer a procrastinator.

• You are no longer on the side lines.

• You are on the path.

As we all know, that path can be a challenging at times. 

But sitting there, wondering whether to get on the path – is surely worse?

Start today.

Get yourself on your path.

Start walking.

Try a sprint or two.

Stop off for cake.

Invite a friend to walk with you.

Listen to an inspiring podcast as you walk.

Start experimenting.

When you start walking, you’ll soon discover if you’re going in the wrong direction by whether your heart leaps or sinks.

Keep going towards the direction which makes your heart leap.

Start.

Today.