On Starting…Anything.

“Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings?”

Eugene Peterson, as translated in The Message, as written down in the tenth verse, of the four chapter, in the book of Zechariah, from the Old Testament (Old Covenant)

Starting a task is actually quite a feat of accomplishment, for us humans.

No matter the task, from the very minute to the very grand, simply beginning something has proven to be something we have all struggled with, at one point or another in our life. 

How do I get started? is a common question we often ask.

Another way we ask this question is, What is the first step?, followed by, What is the next step?, and so on.

We sure are a fickle bunch, us human beings.

I find I am a strong finisher and I actually do enjoy finishing what I have started…once I get started. This goes for pretty much anything I do: getting out the door in the morning, beginning an assignment at school, deciding what to do in the evening, or doing chores, etc. 

Now, I know, I know. There are some people who love starting things. For them, getting started comes naturally. For some of them, all they do is start things. Their lives and desks are full of things they’ve started. And, good for them. That is fine (well, sort of.)

But for those of us, including myself, who do struggle with getting started on things, it can be a maddening and frustrating experience. 

So, what’s going on here?

Well, it turns out, there is a word, or term, for this: task initiation. Huh. Who would’ve thought?!

In broader terms, it refers to the executive functions (EF) that takes place in our brains.

The neuroscience on this is actually quite fascinating. There are around seven – twelve types of EF’s, that include both cognitive and emotional executive functions. Some of these EF’s include: organization, planning, set-shifting (flexibility), working memory, inhibition control, and emotional regulation, to name a few. 

For those people with the strength of task initiation, it comes as no surprise that starting things comes easier for them.

For those of us with the executive dysfunction in this area know all too well the sheer difficulty and challenges it often brings.

Let’s go back to the quote I used at the beginning here. Another way this verse is translated is, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (NLT).

The big idea here is that God is excited when we begin something, or start at something. Anything, really. It might be something we are passionate about, or it might be something as mundane as doing chores or running an errand. What’s more, you’ll feel better having started that something, too, as it brings with it the reward of inner satisfaction. Either way, it brings both a smile to God’s face and to your heart by beginning whatever it is that you do. 

This verse is also a reminder that no matter how small or humble, or even insignificant, our beginning point may seem, it’s a call that encourages us to persevere. Oftentimes, our greatest barrier is just getting started. However, once we do get started then we’re ‘off to the races.’ 

So, as the saying goes, let’s all ‘keep on keeping on.’ As Martin Luther King Jr. stated in a speech about freedom, “if you keep on keeping on, you can’t help but reach it.”

I’ll finish with the words that Martin Luther King Jr. said in a speech he gave in March 1956:

Freedom doesn’t come on a silver platter. With every great movement toward freedom there will inevitably be trials. Somebody will have to have the courage to sacrifice. You don’t get to the Promised Land without going through the Wilderness. You don’t get there without crossing over hills and mountains, but if you keep on keeping on, you can’t help but reach it. We won’t all see it, but it’s coming and it’s because God is for it. When God is for a thing it will survive. Don’t worry about some things we have to go through. Some of them are a necessary part of the great movement we are making toward freedom. There can never be growth without growing pains. There is no birth without birth pains. Like the mother suffering when she gives birth to new life, we know there is glory beyond the pain (emphasis mine.)