On Your Mark, Get Set, Go

Imagine that you’re all set to run a 100m dash. The countdown has begun, and in your head you seem to be working out a plan to implement the best strategy for the race. The angle at which your feet should hit the ground, the length of each stride, how much energy you could conserve if your arms move in a controlled uniform fashion, the optimal speed guaranteeing consistency and stamina throughout the race and so on. Once you finish all the complex calculations and come up with a foolproof plan, you realize that most of your competitors have finished half the race or more, assuming you are pretty intelligent and came up with a plan before next year’s sports event.
 

Now, the scenario, seems pretty stupid, right? Why would anyone with some semblance of intelligence do that? But, I and, I assume, a lot of people like me have a tendency to do just that, in different scenarios, more frequent than the rare 100m dashes we run, if ever. If I have to do something, I will plan and plan and plan, till the deadline leaves me with no other option, but to just somehow get the task done with. Or, never do it in case of flexible deadlines or the lack of them. First, we just plain procrastinate for no reason whatsoever. Then one fine day we’re brimming with ideas and we start researching and planning, so far so good. Now, we plan some more, and waste the entire day. Next day, we could procrastinate or we could continue the research, come to some sort of a plan and procrastinate implementing it or just continue planning and kill the enthusiasm we had to begin with. After these tiring cycles of planning and procrastinating, someday we might finally get down to working or just forget about it and begin a new cycle, with new hopes and aspirations, and loads of new plans. This doesn’t happen always, we’re not that bad, especially if we have to meet deadlines, but it does happen, a lot. Especially when we aren’t following instructions or deadlines, when we have to do something on our own, times when it really, really matters.
 

So what are we actually supposed to do? We have to start! Start running as soon as the whistle blows, as we run, we could fall or realize that the current speed or intensity is not good enough or maybe will tire us out. We have to figure a way out while running, or probably even after the race, before the next one. The important thing is to begin.
 

During school, there were some teachers who encouraged us to prepare or read chapters before we attended the class, so that we could understand better. Whilst some asked us not to read beforehand, and come with an open mind, learn as we go through the lesson in class, as we try to solve problems before any specific method is taught to us. Each ideology has its share of advantages, the trick is to realize that we must adapt to both. To know that theoretical knowledge and planning will definitely lead us to make better, informed decisions, but there has to be a point when you just have to begin the race. If you plan to learn swimming, you could read about certain precautions, or tips, but you have to make the plunge. You have to learn how to swim by being in water, not by reading about it on Wikipedia and writing a thesis on it.
 

What good is training yourself for a race, planning and coming up with the perfect strategy if you never actually run it? We must start. It’s ok if we stop at 1%, we’ll figure out the 99% somehow, chances are it’s already been done. If not, we’ll do it first, but only if we try. The key lies in making that first move, taking that first plunge. The key lies in starting. Always.

 

"You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great."

~ Les Brown