About Adrenaline

“Fortunate are those who take the first step.”
- Paolo Coehlo

I have struggled with writing for quite some time now. To be honest, I cannot even remember the last time I wrote an essay on my computer, let alone publish on my blog. I cannot really put a finger on the reason as to why I stopped writing, as I think it was just a combination of several factors which led to this situation. May it be work, travels, laziness, lack of ideas or time to just sit in front of my laptop for an hour or two in order to produce something. Eventually you just stop making it a priority to try and create something, like you have been doing it for the past five years. You even get bothered by it, but it remains in the back of your mind. You know it is there, but you no longer try to do anything about it. Almost like a slight pain in your shoulder: not enough to feel at ease and normal again, yet tolerable enough to not go see a doctor and have it checked.

The mind learns to play tricks on us. Whenever it catches us slacking on a particular habit, it will immediately seize that opportunity to make us shift away from it. Like a wind pulling a boat away from the shore, right into the storm. Every time we give into the excuses of not picking up that habit at the earliest, the struggle becomes greater and more painful if we are to get back to the person we were before. Like a player who just got injured, the sooner the recovery starts and the sooner that player is back training with the team, the sooner the struggle of bringing themself back up will be over.

On the other hand, if a setback keeps pulling you away from what you love, you will be making it harder on yourself to come back to something you used to enjoy doing, or back to someone who meant the world to you. With every excuse you tell me, with every procrastination, the desire to get back will diminish, jumping into the background until it is barely still there.

“I will not stop because I remember the feeling.”
- Shakedown by The Score

I have learned that the toughest part of getting your act together is when you finally take that first step. You force yourself to finally act on it. It is no longer just a question about wanting it in your mind, as it becomes linked to your body getting in the motion in order to make it happen. When you think about it, the toughest part of wanting to get fit is when you finally get up and go to the gym for the very first time. Of course, consistency plays a part in maintaining the course and making it to the finish line, yet there will be no need to focus on consistency if you do not even get started. For a lot of people, the act of starting something – even when it is about doing something all over again – is more terrifying than the thought of doing it on a regular basis in order to reach their goal.

Beginnings are scary, but it is scarier to keep yourself in the dark because you are uncertain if there is light outside. Do not let past experiences stop you from experiencing new ones. It is said that the two greatest fears in life are the fear of failure – What if things do not work out? – and the fear of success – What if they do and I cannot handle it?.

Take the risk.
Get out there again, and do your best.
There is only growth and opportunities waiting.
Believe a bit more in yourself and give yourself credit whenever you overcome a new threshold.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you cannot see the whole staircase.”
– Martin Luther King Jr