A Late-Bloomer’s Guide to Starting Exactly Where You Are
If we’re being honest, most of us don’t struggle with dreaming.
We struggle with starting.
And on this journey of creating the life I want, I’ve learned something that freed me:
You don’t need more to begin. You need to use what you already have.
Your ideas.
Your experiences.
Your resources.
Your pockets of time.
Your willingness.
This blog is another entry in my “Creating the Life I Want” diaries — a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to move forward when life is loud, you feel behind, or you’re battling your own thoughts.
Let’s get into what this actually looks like.
How You Get Yourself Into Motion on Days When Your Brain Is Loud
Some days my brain is doing the absolute most — and today is no different.
It feels cluttered, overstimulated, noisy with ideas, worries, tasks, and unfinished thoughts.
On days like this, I have to remind myself:
Motion doesn’t come from waiting for the noise to calm down — it comes from choosing one small action in spite of it.
The secret isn’t silencing your mind.
It’s moving with it.
When your brain is loud, don’t try to fix everything.
Don’t try to organize every idea.
Don’t try to make your next step perfect.
Just get into motion — gently, intentionally.
I’ll take 2–3 minutes to breathe, stretch, or clear a spot on my desk… and that tiny reset is often enough to get me started.
Motion creates momentum, even in chaos.
Today I plan to declutter my mudroom. It’s the first thing I see when I walk into the house, and for months it has triggered negative feelings the moment I step into what should be my sacred space. It’s been representing unfinished tasks, wasted space, and, honestly, it’s just visually unappealing.
How can I claim I want a calm and peaceful mind, yet set myself up for this experience every day?
I’d have to be crazy to keep letting this slide — so I’m fixing it today. And don’t worry, I’ll insert before-and-after pics below.
The big takeaway here: start small.
I’ve allowed the fact that I want this space redesigned — built-in bench, coat hooks, shelves, a cabinet — to keep me from doing what I can do right now.
Well, today is the day we make small progress and simply get into motion.
Your 10-Minute Rule
This rule has saved me so many times.
If something feels too heavy, too big, or too complicated, I tell myself:
“Just do it for 10 minutes.”
Ten minutes of writing, cleaning, planning, emailing, cooking, editing, praying, reading, brain-dumping, walking — whatever gets you moving.
Ten minutes is small enough that your brain won’t rebel…
but powerful enough to shift your entire day.
What usually happens?
You start for 10 minutes… and stay for 20.
You weren’t unmotivated — you were overwhelmed.
You just needed a softer on-ramp.
That’s exactly what I decided to do today. I felt overwhelmed with everything I wanted to accomplish, so I asked myself:
“What can I do for 10 minutes that would actually show progress and be the most beneficial?”
Writing was the answer.
Yes, I could work on migrating my Shopify store.
I could create content.
But in the bigger picture, writing this blog post for 10 minutes would give me the most bang for my time.
And look at that — I’ve been writing well past 10 minutes.
Now I’m motivated to keep going…
and it also revealed that I really want to declutter my mudroom.
Why Clarity Beats Motivation
Motivation is cute, but she’s unreliable.
Clarity, though? Clarity will carry you.
When you’re clear on what you want, why it matters, and the next tiny step, you don’t need hype — you just need execution.
Most people aren’t stuck; they’re just unclear.
I’m grateful I’m finally understanding this, because for years every day felt like a struggle. I was overcomplicating everything and not giving myself grace based on where I actually was… and I wasn’t using what I already had.
Using what you have starts with asking:
“Okay. Based on my current time, energy, and resources… what is the next doable step?”
Clarity simplifies.
Clarity calms.
Clarity cuts the overwhelm in half.
And clarity is something you can give yourself today.
In fact — just now, literally while writing this — I realized why I’ve been procrastinating a task I was clear about months ago:
Fear.
Fear crept back in and clouded my clarity.
Fear of judgment and rejection, right at the core of my inaction.
So how do I fix this?
I go back to my why.
Why am I doing this?
What do I hope to gain?
How will this help others?
Inside my thoughts:
“I want feedback on my current planner so I can improve the next version of the “Cheat Code”. I want to create a digital version that’s easier to update, plus printable inserts. I know what it feels like to be mentally disorganized and overwhelmed — that’s why I created the planner. To help people like me.”
So why am I not following through?
Deep down, I’ve been fearing judgment and rejection.
And what can I do about it?
Here’s my plan:
1. Batch-create and schedule posts so I take the thinking out of it.
2. Put my Facebook group check-ins on my calendar.
3. Write a weekly blog about what I’m learning along the way.
Whew. That helped.
Now your turn.
What “Using What You Already Have” Looks Like Emotionally
People talk about “use what you already have” like it’s only practical.
But emotionally?
It’s a whole experience.
Sometimes it feels humbling, inconvenient, uncomfortable, frustrating, and slow especially when you’ve convinced yourself you’re “behind” or “starting late.”
Emotionally, using what you have looks like: Giving yourself grace, Choosing progress over perfection, Letting go of shame about past choices, Seeing your current season as enough, Giving yourself permission to bloom now, Trusting that God can multiply small beginnings.
It also looks like bravery — because choosing to start with what you have requires honesty.
Honesty about where you are.
Honesty about what you’ve ignored.
Honesty about what you’ve been afraid to start.
But here’s the beautiful part, using what you have builds confidence because every step proves you’re capable.
Not only has it built my confidence — it’s shown me over and over that I do, in fact, have everything I need.
I just have to choose to follow through.
I don’t know about you, but I am the queen of overestimating what something will take. In the moment it feels so big and impossible… until I start. Then the anxiousness, doubt, and fear peel away.
It amazes me how often I forget this and go through the cycle again.
Maybe you do too.
Well, here’s my trick for getting unstuck faster...
How Writing Helps You Get Unstuck
Writing is one of the most powerful tools we already have — and most of us underestimate it.
Writing creates clarity, calm, and direction.
When my thoughts are loud or tangled, writing helps me, separate real priorities from noise, process my ideas, understand my emotions, untangle what I’m afraid to say out loud, identify what actually matters, and figure out the next step instead of all the steps.
Writing is how I create the life I want because it slows my brain down enough to see what’s possible.
And you don’t need a fancy new journal.
You don’t need a system.
You don’t need a perfect prompt.
Just a piece of paper, a pencil, and a few honest sentences.
Writing is you… using what you already have.
You Are Not Behind — You Are Becoming
Everything you need to begin is already in your hands:
Your story.
Your lessons.
Your tools.
Your time.
Your creativity.
Your courage.
Your faith.
You’re not starting from scratch — you’re starting from experience.
And if you feel like a late bloomer?
Good. You’re blooming right on time.
Let this be the season where you choose progress over perfection, clarity over chaos, and resourcefulness over “I need more”.
You already have enough to start creating the life you want.
And today is a good day to begin.