Beginnings

Beginning well is a momentary thing; finishing well is a lifelong thing.

Ravi zacharias

You can also download the podcast here.

For our first ever podcast, we dive into a new year–a new decade actually–with a discussion about why we all get hung up on starting something new. Here’s some highlights as you listen in!

Why is it hard to begin?

Is it easier to begin than to finish?

We set lofty goals that are unsustainable. (Raise hand if you’ve already quit a New Year’s resolution.)

It’s okay to be a beginner. It’s okay to not be perfect.

We expect to begin as an expert. But expertise comes from diving in and seeing where something goes.

Okay to not have a long-range goal. Short and accomplishable is okay too.

A quick win is good—a checkmark. They add up to meet a large goal.

It’s okay to give up and get back up.

Where we begin well but don’t finish well is where we stumble and stay down and don’t get back up.

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Set yourself up to succeed. Don’t set yourself up to fail. For example, Kristi needs to eat healthy in a way that doesn’t require a lot of cooking. She knows she will fail at this.

It’s easy to set big dream goals. Recognize the goals you can’t accomplish because they are outside your ability to make happen. Lindsey’s goal is not to get a literary agent but to query and work on her craft. These are small steps that are accomplishable for her.

Olympic year! An athlete’s goal is to set a PR, not always to win. You can only control how much better you get. Not how much better someone else is than you.

You cannot start as an expert. Sprinters are not Olympic worthy at their first practice—not a gold medal race time.

You become an expert after years of experience.

Even though we are speakers and writers, podcasting is different.

You may feel like a beginner even if you are starting something you’ve done before.

Especially if you try to do it differently than you’ve always done it, like Kristi with her new book—coming in August! Vying for the Viscount.

You’re going to stumble when you try something new.

Set short term goals. You can look at your life in three months, three weeks, three days. Take it in the small chunks so you can feel like you have accomplished something.

Small wins snowball into big wins.

Set a goal. Cut it in half.

Jon acuff

Dave Ramsey and baby steps. Pay off your smallest debt first.

Start Small.

Don’t Start as an Expert.

Allow time to finish well.

Recognize how seasons give you limits. Lindsey is going back to teaching full-time this spring, so she has to set a lesser word count that is attainable for her now limited time.

Edit your life—this is your challenge. Edit your attitude to allow yourself to be a beginner.

We simply hope to be better than we are today.

Throughout your life you have many opportunities to begin again. Finishing is a lifelong journey.

As we begin this new venture, we hope you’ll realize you do have the chance to start over, make some edits, and not settle for a rough draft.