You feel it: the pull to create something original, to teach from lived experience, and speak in a voice that feels like your own. That instinct is the beginning of a body of work. The problem is we tend to imagine a body of work as something we build after we’ve become who we’re meant to be. We mistake it for proof of arrival—when in truth, it’s how we get there. 

Avoidance wears many spiritual disguises. I have so much grace for the early phase, when your nervous system is catching up, when you’re still building the inner scaffolding and it’s truly not time yet. But there’s a point when “not yet” becomes “never,” and when you’re not actually waiting anymore… you’re avoiding.

Starting something new automatically means stepping into uncertainty and risking imperfection. It means making yourself visible. It’s vulnerable, and it forces you to be open to both rejection and reward. With the overwhelming mix of emotions in play, it’s no wonder so many people never make it past the starting line.