Taking that First Step – Why you shouldn’t be afraid of taking one?

Life is a series of first steps, isn’t it? 

The first step that we take when we learn how to walk, of course, with the help of our parents/grandparents; the first cursive letter that we write; the first word that we blurt out, the first day at school, the first new friend that we laugh with, the first ice cream or candy that we relish, that first picnic, the list is endless. At every stage of life, at every age, we experience many firsts. Some moments, we remember while others, we don’t but get mentioned about it by our family and friends. 

Do you ever think, why as toddlers and kids, we weren’t afraid of taking those first steps? That’s because, we are not worried or even aware of the results, whether we would fail or succeed. It was a pure joy of doing something new every single time. But, as we grow up, we tend to worry before taking any such first step. That’s because we are then aware of the uncertainty that lies ahead (thanks to our fully developed brains) and are more concerned about succeeding or failing at that attempt.

Let me give you a simple example. A few weeks ago, my wife and I had been to a resort, which had various adventure experiences such as, Egyptian ladder, Burma bridge, and Zipline among others. I had tried zipline earlier, but not the others. 

The first thing that I tried was the Burma bridge, it was easy as compared to the Egyptian ladder. Unlike the side ropes that you can hold while crossing the river on the Burma bridge, an Egyptian ladder doesn’t provide any such support. You will have to hold the harness that is connected at the top rope and cross the ladder. 

On the Egyptian ladder, I stood on the edge of the ladder waiting to take my first step and honestly, I was a little scared. I waited for a minute, took a deep breath and took that first step. Subsequently but slowly, I took the next few steps, and it wasn’t easy. I kept moving very cautiously, but it  made the ladder wobble even more and I had to balance myself to ensure it didn’t wobble and throw me off balance. It worsened when I reached the middle, as the wobbling became uncontrollable, and I just stopped. That’s when the instructor came from the other side and told me that the trick was to move quickly, and I was doing exactly the opposite. With that I managed to reach the end …phew. 

This isn’t the first time; I feared taking a first step towards doing something new. Way back in 2014-15, I was happy creating portraits with just a set of grey/black pencils. Though, I wanted to try using color pencils but didn’t have the courage to do so. I was afraid to take that first step, ‘what if my colour portrait didn’t turn out the way it should be?’ , ‘will I be able to achieve the proper colours and tones?’ ‘if I don’t get it right, then will I be demotivated badly?’ With many such questions, I stalled purchasing a set of color pencils for months. My wife coaxed me to buy a set and at least start slowly. After a while, I knew I had to take that first step, and I took one indeed. 

Since then, I never looked back. I went from strength-to-strength, moving from wax-based color pencils to oil-based polychromous color pencils to acrylic paints. With every medium, I improved my portraiture skills. Every portrait was a joy to create and a treat to watch for my audience and clients. Even better, I could offer more options to my potential clients to choose from.  

However, that fear of unexplored doesn’t disappear even if you tackle it once. I faced it again when I wanted to explore portraits with oil paints. But I wanted to learn the oil painting techniques before I began. So, I attended an oil-portrait painting workshop and learnt the nuances of the medium. 

Being a self-taught artist, who started with portraiture, I became adapt at creating realistic paintings. From portraits, I moved to still-life and contemporary genres. But I wanted to try my hand at abstracts. The only hurdle was that I didn’t know how to begin and was also hesitant at the same time. 

So, I read up on the origins of abstract art and the experiences of artists who create abstract paintings. I discussed the genre with fellow artists, and I understood that there’s no approach or a set method to create an abstract painting. You just pour your imagination on canvas while being as creative as you can at the same time.

My list of ‘firsts’ is getting populated, and I intend to continue with it. 

So, my friends, remember that you will get innumerable opportunities to take a first step at every stage of life. Just remember the joy of doing something for the first time. Of course you may consider the cons but don’t let that deter you; rather let that make you more prepared and explore the new possibilities. Keep that ‘little child’ alive in you, the child who doesn’t feel afraid to try new things without thinking about the results and consequences. Enjoy the experience and learn from it, whatever be the results. Do not be afraid at all!

So when are you taking your next first step?