Why is starting hard?

Getting started can be hard, but at some point, you have to just do it!

Hello, friend!

Thank you for finding your way to my little corner on Substack. I hope you like it here and will become a subscriber. If you already are one, thank you!

Beginnings can be hard, especially for procrastinators like me.

Is just starting something enough?

Maybe. But… remember that old saying, don’t start something unless you can finish it. So, maybe not.

But starting matters, that’s for sure.

I’m excited to have written my first article (finally) here on Substack and share it with you. I set this space up months ago, but here we are well into month two of 2024, and I’m just now sending out my first newsletter/article.

I’ve started!

So, why is it so hard to just start sometimes?

There are a lot of reasons why it took me so long to get started, but one of them was figuring out what I want to do in this space and what I should do with my old blog space. (It’s still there.) And then, what in the world should my first article be about? It better be worth reading, right? You know, first impressions and all that.

What do I want for this space?

How much do I divulge about my intentions? Do I even know what they are? (More on this next time.) What do I write about to entice new readers to investigate and loyal readers to follow and then, stick with me? Do I change gears completely and start over or keep writing about topics I’ve been writing about for over a decade now — mostly cancer and grief?

What if no readers from the old Nancy’s Point migrate with me? What if I disappoint readers — new and old alike? What if no one finds me here? Can I ever go back? Would I want to?

It sometimes seems like everyone who is anyone is writing on Substack. So, what in the world am I doing here?

So many questions!

Then, the other day it dawned on me. Most of the questions that kept cropping up revolved around my own fears, self-doubts, and feelings of vulnerability. Feelings you and I have always dealt with — at least from time to time, right?

Basically, it comes down to wondering if we’re good enough. Sound familiar?

Writers are quite familiar with feelings of inadequacy. We are always second guessing, questioning our own worth and words as creatives, and wondering if what we’ve written is good enough to warrant even having readers.

Women are inherently good at self-criticism, as well as criticizing other women, I might add. Why do we do this? Why are we so hard on ourselves and others, especially other women?

(Are men like this too?)

Supporting others should be easy, shouldn’t it? Supporting our own creative endeavors should be even easier.

And yet…

My goal on this new-to-me platform will remain the same. Keeping it real. Offering support you can use. Speaking my truths about whatever topics I choose to write about, including whatever ones you tell me you’re interested in reading about.

I feel like we’re in this together. But then, writers and readers always are.

So, welcome. I hope you’ll like it here. We’ll figure things out together as we go along.

Here’s what you can expect.

You can expect an article landing in your inbox twice a month or so. I’ll be writing about cancer and grief, yes, of course, I will. But I’ll also be tackling topics such as: life as an introvert, pets, getting older (okay, old) in a youth-obsessed world, the writing process, my books, and dare I say it — feminism and politics.

I guess the hard part is done now. I started! I pushed that publish button.

This post is good enough.

I am good enough. And so are YOU!

Let’s see where this takes us, shall we?

Thank you for joining me on this new adventure.

I couldn’t do it without you, nor would I want to.

So… be sure to chime in, say hello, and share what’s on your mind with a comment below.

Because as always, I see you. I hear you, and I care about what you have to say.

Do you sometimes struggle to start something?

What do you think holds you back?

Is there something you want to start?

P.S. If you’ve been wanting to start something — whatever that might be — I hope you decide to go ahead and JUST START!

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