Just get started - you have nothing to lose
2023-08-17
Even though I would never call myself some sort of introvert and speek rather openly with friends and family (sometimes maybe a bit too openly), I also have a tendency to avoid new situations and stick to activities I know, as they are more predictable. Therefore, one of my personal goals for 2023 was to turn this behaviour around, try new things and put myself intentionally into somewhat uncomfortable situations. And as far as I can tell, this decision has been one of the best in my life so far. That's why I want to change your mindset about experimental activities with this article and ultimately inspire you to just get started...
If we are honest, the driving force behind my (and probably your) preference to go with known situations rather than new ones isn't just knowing what they are like, it's the fear of failure , of messing up or worst of all being confronted with something we can't handle that is holding us back. When it comes to realizing a life-long dream or starting an exciting, but potentially risky project, we also tend to think that it might be too complex or too much to handle and end up planning endlessly, since we don't really not know where to start. Don't get me wrong, this is totally normal behaviour, but we have to acknowledge it in order to effectively change something.
Probably, the most important thing to sort is understanding that you really have nothing to lose , since people who never start will also never be able to win something. In a nutshell, it's the decision between not gaining anything for a matter of fact or the possibility to do so, even if this probability is extremely small. Granted, people performing exceptionally well often just had really good starting conditions and quite a bit of luck to be in just the right place at the right time with the right idea. But your life also won't change on its own or entirely based one someone else's favour - you have to become active and change something, since you are the only one who's truly in control.
Another essential point is to appreciate the value of real-world experience compared to only theoretical knowledge. Of course, having a good understanding of what you are doing is essential for anything to work out, but after a certain point (rather sooner than later) you just have to put that knowledge to work to move forward. That's why most people, who really want to excel at a certain task, start teaching others as early as possible and that's also why creating an explaination presentation or video is one of the best ways of learning, since you have to understand a topic thoroughly in order to explain it to someone else. Probably the best examples for the importance of gaining real world experience as early as possible are the "fail fast and cheap" attitude of most startups together with the sheer popularity of dual study progams here in Germany. These combine academic studies with experience in a company, especially in the STEM sector, and are proven to be the most effective way of generating highly-qualified employees.
Finally, I have two smaller thoughts to get out of my head. On the one hand, I want to emphasize that even failures are something to be proud of , since they provide us with knowledge we wouldn't have accumulated otherwise. Sure, it's always a bummer to have wasted a lot of time (and potentially money) on something that doesn't work the way we expected it to, but you will certainly have learned a thing or two along the way and you never know when that knowledge will come in handy. On the other hand, I noticed (and you will very like too) that wherever to go almost everyone you meet is very nice, offers help and cares about you regardless of the fact that you might be a total stranger. This is a strong contrast to our usual believe of humans being fundamentally bad and I throughly explained it my article " We humans actually are fundamentally good ", if you want to find out more about this misconception.
With that said, I hope to have made some clear, understandable points in favour of being brave, just getting started and realizing your dreams. We humans only have a rather limited time in our lifes and should use it wisely, so don't waste it with waiting for "the right time" or endless planning. Get started and tell me about your experiences in the comments down below...