Photo by Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.” — Alan Cohen
I’ve always had a thing for new beginnings.
In games, there’s this concept of “starting a new game,” which brings fresh decisions, challenges, obstacles, learning opportunities, and more.
Often, I find myself with a game that seems like a losing battle from the start, and I tell myself that once I finish it, I’ll begin another, and it will be different.
However, it’s not just in the gaming world where we seek these novel opportunities; we actively yearn for new beginnings in our real lives.
We love new beginnings because they offer new challenges and experiences from which we can learn, create new connections, changes can happen. We actively seek out these fresh starts.
On one hand, this isn’t a bad thing. But let me revisit the idea later in the article.
Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.” — Alan Cohen
I’m writing this article today, on Monday.
In my personal development journey, there’s always been this notion that I’ll start from the beginning of the month, or at the start of the year, and more often, I’ll begin on a Monday. I see Monday as a good day to “start.”
Today, something really happened that required me to “start on Monday.” I got access to a programming training course, which is fantastic. Perhaps in the future, I’ll share my experience with learning programming.
Speaking of Mondays, I recently had a revelation when I looked at my calendar. It filled me with excitement. Imagine that January 1, 2024, falls on a Monday. That’s extraordinary for me. It’s an epic “beginning.”
But there’s a problem with this yearning for new beginnings.
Let’s go back to the idea introduced at the beginning.
When I’m in a League of Legends match, and I realize right from the start that things aren’t going well, I wait for the next match.
In the current game, I’m less focused, less present, not hoping that the game’s fate will turn around. The right attitude should be to focus on the current game and see it through, no matter what.
By the way, this has happened many times. I’ve managed to turn the tide of the game, even when the beginning was lackluster.
In reality, this desire for a fresh start can be highly misleading.
Many times, my inclination to start fresh at a specific moment meant nothing but a grand display of procrastination, wasted time, and inaction.
I’ve often caught myself saying, “Forget it; half the month has passed. There’s no point in starting now. I’ll begin from the first day of the next month.” Or, “Let’s wait; there are three more months left. I’ll start in the new year.”
It’s a precarious attitude, by no means human, and extremely detrimental because it only sinks you deeper into the character whose unique trait is procrastination.
In essence, we should welcome new beginnings and the opportunities they represent.
The desire for a fresh start is a positive trait. However, it’s essential to remember that we don’t need to wait for a specific day or time to initiate change. As the great Mark Twain wisely said,
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
Each day offers us a chance to embark on a new journey of growth and self-improvement. So, why wait until Monday when you can start from today?
Let me know what do you think about this perspective.