You know how it is, you have to to something. But it’s big, very big. The problem is not that you don’t know what to do, but that the scale of what must be done is so big that it’s overwhelming. Where to start? When I am stuck like this I am reminded of a story I read a long time ago. It was in Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirzig. The author was relating how a student was stuck about how to start and assignment, which was to write a piece about a small town, but the job was too big and the student didn’t know where to start.
To help, the teacher told the student to just write about one building, but the job was still too big, then the student was told to pick one brick in one building and start there. The result was a flood of storytelling. Just from narrowing his view to that one brick.
Sometimes I find when that when I get stuck getting started, when I find the prospect of what needs to be done is just overwhelming, I have to narrow my focus down to just one small task… that brick. Once I get started, the job tells me what needs to be done next, but it takes the focus on that brick to let me get started.
So if you are stuck and don’t know where to start, don’t worry, just find your brick. The rest of the job will find its way to you.
You can have a look at our brick at clearwater coffee.