I keep looking for a guide, a mentor, someone who’s been there before. The only problem? Everywhere I turn, I come up short.
I’m doing something new and as liberating as it may be to embark on the new, without limitations, or prescribed guidelines, it’s also terrifying. It’s lonely to be at the forefront of something new and it can feel like every turn is a wrong turn.
Still, fear and uncertainty have rarely been enough reason to deter me.
If you think about it, nothing new has ever happened without fear, and nothing innovative has ever happened without some (read: a lot) of failure. That which had never been done is by its very nature a risk, somewhat lonely, and bound to fail at least some of the time.
But it’s also bound to succeed.
We are drawn to the new in big and small ways. Variety in our diets, travel, even rearranging the furniture. Without the unknown, we can languish, feel unmotivated and begin to wonder, “is there more?”
Don’t hear me wrong. The secret to happiness is to value what we have in the here and now. But that doesn’t nullify the value of embarking on the new.
Not all new ideas indeed pan out. In fact, some of them are complete duds. But as I was discussing with someone earlier this week, it’s not about moving in a linear direction with zero obstacles. The obstacles are where we cut our teeth, strengthen our resolve and discover what’s most important along our path.
You might think this is a bunch of garble-de-goop, that it’s better to become an expert before starting something new. But what I read is a rallying cry.
We have to stop looking for a guide where there is none. Stop stalling because no one has done it before. Stop putting energy into convincing ourselves that we are not the ones to bring this newness to the world.
If anyone can do it, it’s us.
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