It’s hard to start a blog post in September without talking about September. The busy season. The newness. The messiness. The excitement.

Whether you have kids going back to school, starting college, or you’re simply feeling the transition from a relaxing summer into whatever you have going on now — it can feel like a lot.

The funny part is that, although it feels new, and some things really are new, there is also so much that is the same as last September.

My son’s teacher recently sent pictures of what they are working on in class. He’s in Kindergarten, and they are going through the alphabet — again and again.

Part of me is like, They know their ABCs already.

The other part of me is remembering how going back to the basics is often the best place to start. Whenever a new beginning arrives and we feel a bit panicked, going back to basics can turn down some of the fear and hectic energy that arises.

Because you never have to relearn the alphabet. It doesn’t matter that things are different. You can always remember the ABCs.

Something New
I remember when I first started my coaching program about 11 years ago. I had no idea what going back to school would look like. I remember feeling like I had no idea what I was doing, along with that gnawing judgment that I wouldn’t get it right.

That is exactly how I felt when I started writing and posting my blogs. And exactly how I felt when I started drawing, doodling, and exploring art.

The “I don’t know” is always creeping in. Logic would say, Of course you don’t know. That’s why you are starting.

The whole point is to learn, to explore, to try, to figure it out. And if you already knew, you probably wouldn’t be interested in the course or activity to begin with.
In other words, not knowing is the whole point.

Yet something is still pulling us — sometimes gently and sometimes not so gently — to do it a bit differently.

My son has been working on the ABCs for more than a few seasons now. Each year, he moves closer to actually connecting those letters to make words. From there, sentences. Then reading books. Then writing paragraphs, and so on.

The basics don’t change. But what we can do with them does.

The Basics

The same is true for adults and growing. We crave change and purpose. Yet, that only comes from facing new beginnings.

While there is always an unknown part, there is also always a basics part — the part that you know and have already done repeatedly over the years. That can look different depending on what you are beginning in your life.
For business, it may be choosing a domain name or making a phone call to someone.

For school, it might be getting your supplies organized and highlighting parts of the book.

For parenting, it may be shopping for supplies or structuring your calendar.

In a new relationship, it might look like sharing personal stories and asking questions.

Do you know that the business, program, school, or relationship will succeed?

No. That’s the whole point. Not knowing, and still taking a leap of faith.

So how do we take that leap of faith and don’t get stuck in the old way?

Go back to basics.

I know how to buy a sketchbook.

I know how to use a pencil to form shapes.

I know how to do some research online.

I know how to ask questions.

These are all basics.

They may feel uncomfortable, especially when the something new is something you important to you. But you don’t need to know how the whole thing will unfold. You just need to know the next basic step.

Small Steps Add Up

A phone call inquiring about the rent of an apartment you drove by — it’s a basic move.

But that basic move inches you closer to moving to a new place.

It doesn’t matter if the rent was too high or the place ended up not working out. The action provided useful information that you take with you into the next step.

Buying and sharpening pencils — basic move.

But having them on your table next to a notepad or sketch pad is a huge step towards starting to write, draw, or study something you are interested in.

The challenge is that the new thing feels so big. And when it feels big, it leaves us spinning around in our minds. We talk ourselves out of it or stick to our comfort zones out of habit.

Our focus becomes whether it will work out, what it will mean, whether we’ll be good at it, and where it will all lead. But if we shift our focus away from the outcome and towards the small steps, we actually start to move forward.

Sometimes a leap isn’t a huge swinging motion that feels like some sort of free fall. Sometimes a leap is much quieter.

It is beginning again the same way you did last time. With the knowing that although the basics may look the same, there is an adding on from last time that you can’t see yet.
Take the next small step without needing to know exactly where it will lead. Because beginning something new (again) isn’t about knowing what comes next. It’s about remembering what you already know and embracing change along the way.

With love and light,
Orly