Shut Up and Start.
How Much Longer Will You Just Think About It?
My birthday falls on January 1st, yep the new year’s day. I know, it sucks but I can't change it. Each year, that day, I find myself in a rollercoaster of emotions. I’m happy but then suddenly I end up contemplating life and thinking about what I want to do in the next decades. What goals do I set for the year? What do I want to pursue?
So, I take some time to reflect and journal.
Writing makes things clearer. For 2025, I had a realization. I believe it’s time to stop being behind the scenes and start being on stage and go into the spotlight. After years of consumption, absorbing knowledge from books, podcasts, and conversation with people. I realized it’s my turn to CREATE and push beyond my comfort zone. I decided to commit to various pursuits and be more open to new experiences, especially the ones that are uncomfortable to me.
Learning to play the guitar has been one of my chosen paths for last year resolutions. I had absolutely no experience in music and I've always dreamed of playing an instrument. As someone who loves filming myself to track progress the past few years, I have a ton of videos showcasing different skills. Last year, I decided to share my journey on Youtube and committed to sharing my guitar practice every day for an entire year. Today marks “Day 408 with a guitar”. I’m currently learning fingerpicking for my second year, which means I suck again hehe.
If you check my early videos, you would see how bad I was and that’s perfectly fine. Perfection isn’t the goal, showing up is what matters the most. The practice is the most important.
Last December, I created a long video documenting 1 year of my guitar progress. The main reason I made this video was selfishness. I just thought it would be amazing to see it in 10 years and be proud of my progress. But also, I wanted to demonstrate to others that you don’t need to be talented to do the same. I’m just a random woman showing it to the internet and so can you. Anyone can be consistent and take action, it’s not being superhuman. After doing it for a year, I’m proud of myself for taking the leap. I have received a lot of supportive comments under my daily practice videos. Showing my practice has truly been one of the best decisions of my life and I plan to continue for a long time.
One time, a friend told me: “I like drawing. I think I can do different “HOW TO” types of videos but I will think more because I want to do something cool.”
This quote illustrates perfectly why I share my journey. I’m also guilty of it and will probably still do it in the future but this overthinking is basically putting barriers to ourselves.
The idea of doing something might appear more appealing than actually doing the thing. Thinking about it, talking about it, imagining it is not DOING IT.
You can spend whatever time you want thinking about that goal but it will never equal the time you spend actually doing it. I observed that people fall into this fantasy of the goal or having success in mind as a distant dream. But a dream is just a dream, it will never become reality if you don’t execute.
I love using this comparison to explain why execution matters. I don’t remember where I first heard it, but it’s brilliant.
Imagine that you are craving to eat THE BEST BURGER. You’re anticipating that first bite to be absolutely delicious—only to see it in real life and feel… disappointed. (Hello Mister Marketing haha) That’s the first mistake people make: expecting too much before they’ve even experienced it. Now, let’s say the burger is in front of you. Would you try to eat it in one giant bite? Absolutely not. You take it bite by bite, savoring the flavors, chewing, enjoying each mouthful. Trying to devour it all at once would be overwhelming—maybe even make you sick or put you off burgers entirely. A GOAL IS THE SAME. If you try to tackle everything at once, you’re setting yourself up for failure or, worse, giving up entirely.
The most important thing is to start by choosing a goal you truly want to achieve. Then, create a plan or seek guidance to move forward, you need to experience it.
And most importantly: HAVE FUN. Enjoying the process gives you the motivation to keep going and makes the journey worthwhile.
In the end, just execute. Get out of your head and take action.
The Labbed Life