Jennifer Louden is known as “The Comfort Queen” and featured on many globally recognised TV shows, including Oprah, with over 800,000 copies of her first book sold internationally. She is the world's leading authority on carving out the time and desire to look after your own well being and hence achieve more with less stress despite having a very busy life.
I always preach this to retreat pilgrims and I remind coaching clients- beginnings are always slower than middles and most certainly than ends. Beginnings can be dangerous, feel crafty, shift under your feet. We must never compare our output or clarity or mood during beginnings with what we remember about finishing our last project or about the pleasure that can come from the middle, when we are plunked down in the abundance, thrumming with intention each morning.
The longer we have been creating, (perhaps?) the easier it can be to trick ourselves that our next beginning won't be slow, awkward, ungainly, edgy, or petter out into naught. But the truth is, at least for me, that no matter how many years I've been writing- professionally since 1995- beginnings are always itchy, abyss contemplating, sometimes aborted, and require extra kindness, structure, and support.
It’s okay when you are beginning anything for it to feel hard, slow and awkward. It’s normal. It’s not a problem. It’s the beginning.