Have you ever watched a baby giraffe or baby deer take their first steps? It is the most beautiful yet awkward thing to watch. If you are anything like me, you almost reach for the screen to keep the animal from falling. Starting over can feel like those first new steps by the baby giraffe or baby deer.
You confidently step forward only to have your legs not cooperate with your decision. Your first date ends abruptly. Your first week on the job doesn’t go as well as you had anticipated. You completely forgot your healthy lunch at home and all you have is a gift card to the place without healthy options. You are tempted to go back to the familiar but you know what familiar looks like.
You move forward with your awkward missteps until your “legs” are strong enough to carry you. You keep making steps towards your goal because the pain of staying where you are is stronger than the embarrassment of not getting it right in this moment.
Starting over for me has felt like a thousand baby giraffe first steps all lumped together because I no longer care about being perfect. I care about the action steps that it takes to get stronger. I recently hit send on the worst possible intro to my new podcast. Unedited and unscripted. The old me would have dumped it but I knew the cost of dumping what I had meant that I would NEVER try again.
I reminded myself that even though it was awful to my ears that someone who needs to hear what I said will hear what they needed to hear. It wasn’t all about me. It was about the person who needed to know that they are not alone in their imperfect quest for something new. None of us are. While I am not proud of the product that I put out, I am proud of the fact that I was obedient and released what was necessary to move forward.
What thing have you been holding out on doing while you are waiting to feel stronger or the perfect moment? I challenge you to stand up with the strength that you have and not worry about perfection. Be more concerned with getting in action. Take the baby steps and watch what beautiful thing happens next for you.
You’re worth it! Let’s go!
Just Another Day's Journey 