Anything Worth Doing Blog Post

So, a couple weeks ago, I encountered a post on Facebook that hit me pretty hard. Not like an “oh, my heart is breaking!” or a “Hahahahahaha!” But rather, an inspirational “wow, that’s…that’s actually true,” and I feel like I’ve known this for a while (a “back of the mind” type thing), but it didn’t really resonate until I saw this post. Like someone just drove a nail completely through that I only had a fourth of the way in.

Now, I don’t remember the full details of the post (who posted it or that whatnot), but the gist of it went like this:

“Anything worth doing is worth doing halfway.”

That doesn’t make much sense, now, does it? I mean, it’s not really worth it to put half the dishes away, or drive halfway to a party, or play half of a game. No, this saying goes a little bit deeper than that. Maybe you’ve already heard it? If so, comment your story about it. For those of you who haven’t heard it, let me explain it, and let me tell you why it hit me so hard.

So, what’s worth doing halfway? The post I read gave a few examples, but its all based on time and effort. Maybe you’re running late in the morning and don’t have the time to brush your teeth for the full two minutes? Well, thirty seconds is better than nothing; at least something in your mouth will get cleaned. Maybe you’ve had a long day and you don’t want to do the full cardio workout you have scheduled for yourself? Well, ten minutes of yoga is better than nothing, right? Maybe you like to read a book before bed, but you’re too tired to read an entire chapter? A page or two could suffice for the night. Slow progress is still progress.

It’s all about that progress, I suppose. Moving forward and making some sort of effort. Start with baby steps and grow from there. Whether you want to get healthier, read more, starts projects, hobbies, etc. etc. etc. Just make sure you have the effort to do whatever it is halfway.

Now, you remember I told you I had the nail a fourth of the way in? Here’s why. Probably about a month (or more) ago, I watched this very strange movie on Netflix. It was called “The Producers” from 2005. I don’t know what it was about that movie, but I felt strangely encouraged afterwards. You see, before I watched this movie, I hadn’t written anything for a long time. I struggled with depression and discouragement that my writings just weren’t good enough for anyone to give their time too. Yet, after watching “The Producers” I actually opened my laptop again (this was after midnight, by the way) and I started writing one of my stories–or at least, attempted too. I ended up making two notes for myself and stuck them on my desk where I knew I would see them everyday. The first one asked the question of “Why can’t I be a great author?” I love to create stories and connect with my characters! I love writing descriptions that might give you chills. At this point in time, I only had a part time job, so I had plenty of time to get ahead in writing my novels. The second note I wrote for myself goes along with the main theme of this post: “Anything on the page is progress.”

Anything on the page is progress. Anything. A whole chapter, 500 words, a summary of what happens next, a terrible paragraph full of commas and misspelled words, anything! However, my encouragement from watching “The Producers” didn’t last long. (Don’t ask me why it encouraged me. I’m not entirely sure on that yet.) I wrote a little bit each day in the next couple of days and within two weeks I had a (very) rough draft of the first chapter of my sci-fi novel, but then the discouragement snagged me once again and I was doubting myself.

Fast forward to me reading that anything worth doing is worth doing halfway and I immediately felt baffled. Maybe I was feeling guilty for not being able to put 100% into my writing. Maybe I was stuck in the mindset that good writers write everyday and I was a bad writer because I didn’t do that? Whatever it was, it was freeing to see that post and realize that I’m not the only one who has to do some things halfway and sometimes that’s the only thing you can do and you shouldn’t feel guilty for it. Any passion or hobby you have is worth doing and its worth doing halfway. I love to write, so if I only write a terrible paragraph a day, that’s still progress (it’s easier to go back and edit than it is to pull something out of thin air anyway). I intend to take this saying to heart and keep trucking along with my writings, and I hope this saying does something for you too. Keep making progress in whatever your goals are, even if it means going slow, because anything worth doing, is worth doing halfway.