I love the dream of new beginnings . . . new places to explore, new passions to pursue. Everything feels fresh and crisp and ready for a win. There is an energy and excitement that permeates you. It’s intoxicating!

Until it’s not . . .

Beginnings are dreamy for a moment and then reality begins to sink in: you’re a beginner.

Beginners aren’t very good.

Beginners aren’t very good. Beginnings take a TON of practice. Beginnings require constant thought, intense effort, and intentional improvement . . . just to get the basics mastered. Beginnings are exhausting and humbling.

Let’s do an experiment: Stand up, walk across the room and then come back to where you started.

How was it? Mindless? Simple? As easy as breathing?

What was it like when you were learning to walk? Have you watched a baby learn to walk recently?

Have you watched a baby learn to walk recently?

The baby scoots and then crawls and then learns to stand. After standing and balancing she starts to bounce and takes a few wobbly first steps usually with a loving and supportive big person encouraging nearby. She falls CONSTANTLY and it’s not graceful.

But she doesn’t stop. She keeps bouncing, stepping and wobbling along until she’s walking and running easily. Now, you can walk without having to force every step. There is no fear, only natural and easy movement.

We are all like a baby learning to walk when we are a beginner.

How can we channel our best-beginning self?

Remember that we are just beginning.

Whether it’s a new marriage, a new position, a new business, a new role in church or life, you’re just a beginner and you will slowly grow into this next step. Remind yourself often that you’re starting something new. It’s okay to fall. It’s okay to wobble. It’s okay to overthink each step moving forward.

Stop Comparing.

This is a big one. When we’re children, we are all trying new things simultaneously. As adults, we are in different stages in everything we do and it’s easy to look at the person who is the same age and compare ourselves. It’s not the same.

I didn’t marry until I was almost 40. I had friends who had been married 20 years by then. Here I was taking my baby, wobbly first steps in marriage. If I had looked sideways at my friends (some many, many years younger) I could have easily compared myself to them. They had so much confidence and ease in their marriages. Why did mine feel wonderful but hesitant? Where was the natural ease that they enjoyed? After four years I already feel a deeper, more solid connection. I know how he will respond in so many situations and am more confident in our relationship. In another 16, I’m sure it will be even stronger and better, especially as we intentionally build a relationship that’s so important to us.

As an entrepreneur, I’m very much a beginner. Although I’ve been coaching 13 years (not a beginner coach) relying on it for a majority of my income and building it to be a stand alone enterprise is new for me. Marketing, social media management, bookkeeping, etc are all tasks that are foreign and interesting, but sometimes tedious and stilted. I don’t have to look far to see someone much younger building a six,seven or eight-figure business. If I spend my time looking there, my wobbly entrepreneurial steps will look paltry, insignificant and less then. Each day I focus on my tasks, my “why” and my dream. I only look sideways or at people ahead of me when I need advice, inspiration or support.

Embrace the Beginning

So? What do we do? We embrace the newness and the beginning. We learn from the wobbles and the missteps. We celebrate each step. We look up to those who are further ahead for great ideas and empowering inspiration, knowing that the only way we won’t get there is to quit.

Confidence comes with consistent persistence. It takes practice and patience every day to learn a new skill. But when we can focus on the joy of learning and less on how much farther we have to go, we can embrace our beginner selves and confidently love the life we are living. This stage won’t last long and there may be a time in the future where we look back lovingly at those formulative, figure-it-out seasons.

We are never alone.

We are never alone. We are lovingly supported, if not on earth, than by angels, by our Heavenly Parents, by the universe, by Jesus. Whatever you believe, choose to believe that you are supported and you will watch miracles unfold.

How To Be A Confident Beginner