Begin

Today's new word of #DWHabit is begin.  I like this word. In a world where we struggle to start anything we need this word.  I watch students who have been given a writing assignment sit and stare at me. I tell them to pick up their pencil and begin.  They don't seem to realize or understand that if they never start they can't possibly finish. To begin doesn't mean you have give 110 percent. It doesn't mean you are done. It means you have actually put words down.

I procrastinated my first book for years. I talked about it to my husband all the time. I talked so much that one evening while sitting in the yard swing with my husband I mentioned it again. This time when he went into the house to get another cup of coffee he came out with a notepad and pen and told me to stop talking about it and write it. That was when I began to put the words to paper. They had been in my head for so long that they just flowed onto the paper.  If it had not been for my husband pushing me I probably would never have begun it.  Fear is what keeps us from beginning a lot of things in our life. Fear of failure, fear we won't get it right, fear others will make fun of us. Until we begin  we can't ever entertain the possibility of success, whatever that looks like to us.  For 2018 I want to encourage my students to begin.  Begin by identifying what they want to accomplish, then begin to set goals. After that I want them to begin planning and finally begin working their plan.  This should be everyone's word for 2018,


"Begin", he said.
"I can't", I whispered.
"Begin", he said/
"I  don't know how."
"Begin" he said.
"Will you help?" I asked.
"Yes, if you will only begin", he replied.