When starting something new, I hear so many voices in my head:

1. Will I fail?
2. Will it be hard?
3. What if I do it wrong?
4. What if it is not good enough?
5. And the big one – What will others think?

It has taken me a long time, and I am still a work in progress, but I have developed an approach for such questions.

The approach is to start with a small beginning and think of it as a game.

A game has goals, rules and feedback, which can also be applied to a task in our lives. But a game downplays and sidesteps questions like those above. In a game, if you fall over, you get another chance. If you die, you get a new life. If you hit an obstacle, you get another attempt. Because dealing with failure is built into the mental framework of the game, I find that I can sidestep the critical mind that raises questions.

This is similar to meditation. During meditation the instruction is let your thoughts arise and pass without any judgment. Similarly, a game calls for no judgment as you play. Without any judgment, everything becomes easier.

Still a work in progress, but with a new and hopeful approach.