Even when you have no idea what you're doing. Especially then.
6 min read
January has a reputation for being the "fresh start" month. New goals, new habits, new you. But here's the thing nobody talks about: most of us don't actually want to feel new at anything. We want to feel capable. Confident. Like we've got it figured out.
Being a beginner? That part we try to skip.
I get it. I'm right there with you this month, stepping into unfamiliar territory in multiple areas of my life. And it's brought up a lot of thoughts about why we resist the beginner phase so hard, and what we miss when we do.
We've Forgotten How to Be Bad at Things
When was the last time you let yourself be bad at something?
We spend so much of our lives on autopilot. The things we already know how to do. The stuff that doesn't require much thought anymore. Our routines become so familiar we could do them half-asleep (and sometimes we do).
But that means we rarely step into beginner territory. It's uncomfortable. The unknown, the vulnerability of not knowing what you're doing.
There's this unspoken pressure to be good at things right away. To skip the awkward, messy, figuring-it-out phase. But that's where the good stuff happens. That's where you surprise yourself.
And the messing up? That's where the magic is. Every stumble either teaches you how to get better or shows you it's not for you. Both are valuable.
You don't have to be good at something to benefit from doing it. You just have to try.
Case in Point: My Week
I'm running my first wellness course this week. I've wanted to do this for a while, had a couple of false starts, learned from those, and tried again. I knew I'd eventually figure it out.
And then it started. And it didn't go seamlessly.
There was a Zoom link problem that affected participants. My technical mistake. I had too much happening all at once, so much was new, and something slipped through the cracks.
Was I thrilled? No. Not even a little.
But here's what I learned: I can't do it all on my own. I need to get help. And honestly? That's a good lesson. Maybe even the lesson I needed most.
It's easy to talk about embracing the messy beginner phase when it's theoretical. It's a lot harder when you're the one apologizing to participants for a link that didn't work. But this is what trying new things actually looks like. Not polished. Not perfect. Just real.
What This Looks Like in Other Areas
I'm putting this beginner energy into practice in a few different ways right now.
In my kitchen, I'm making bibimbap this week. Never made it before. I've been watching Culinary Class Wars (a Korean cooking competition show - highly recommend if you want to feel inspired and hungry at the same time) and it made me want to experiment with Korean cooking at home.
New ingredients. New flavours. A completely different approach than my usual rotation. I'm even serving it to guests, which means I'm committing to the experiment publicly. No backing out.
That's what I love about trying a new recipe. You get to experiment, apply what you already know from other cooking experiences, and create something different. Will it be perfect? Probably not. Will I learn something? Definitely.
I also joined a new yoga group this month. New faces, new instructor, completely unfamiliar environment. None of it feels comfortable yet.
That's kind of the point.
The Science Behind Why New Things Feel So Hard
Here's something that helped me reframe the discomfort: that nervous feeling you get when you're about to try something new? It's almost physically identical to excitement.
Racing heart. Heightened attention. Sweaty palms. Your body responds the same way whether you're anxious or excited. The only difference is the story you tell yourself about it.
Research backs this up. A study from Harvard Business School found that people who reframed their anxiety as excitement before a stressful task performed better than those who tried to calm down. The physiological arousal is the same. It's the interpretation that shifts everything.
So when I noticed that nervous feeling creeping in about my new projects this month, I started calling it excitement instead. It doesn't make the discomfort disappear, but it changes my relationship with it.
Why January Makes This Even Harder
If you're feeling like you're running on empty right now, you're not imagining it. January is genuinely hard for a lot of people.
You might have heard this past Monday called "Blue Monday," supposedly the most depressing day of the year. Here's a fun fact: it was actually invented by a travel company to sell winter holidays. Not exactly peer-reviewed science.
But what is real is that this time of year presents legitimate challenges. The post-holiday crash. The return to routines after time off. The credit card bills from December. The fact that it's dark when you wake up and dark when you're making dinner.
Reduced sunlight directly affects your serotonin levels, which impacts both mood and motivation. Studies show that people living in northern latitudes experience measurable drops in serotonin during winter months. It's not laziness. It's biology.
This is why forcing yourself to white-knuckle through workouts you hate or strict meal plans that feel punishing tends to backfire in January. Your system is already working harder than usual just to maintain baseline.
What Actually Helps
Instead of pushing harder, try shifting your approach.
Get natural light early. This one is backed by solid research. Exposure to natural light in the first hour after waking helps regulate your circadian rhythm and gives your serotonin production a boost. Open the blinds immediately when you get up. Take a short walk if you can. Even standing by a window for 10-15 minutes helps. It's a small thing that makes a real difference.
Move in ways that feel good, not punishing. When motivation is low, the answer isn't to force yourself through a workout you're dreading. It's to find movement that actually feels appealing. Try an indoor class you haven't done before: Pilates, boxing, barre, spin, a different style of yoga. You don't have to commit to anything long-term. Just try one and see how it feels. Sometimes a completely different energy is all it takes to shake off the fog.
Let yourself experiment without pressure. This applies to food, movement, hobbies, anything. You don't have to master something to enjoy it. You don't have to be good at it to get something out of it. The trying is the thing.
Ask for help before you need it. This one's fresh for me. When you're doing something new, you don't know what you don't know. Building in support from the start, whether that's tech help, accountability, or just another set of eyes, isn't a sign of weakness. It's smart.
Permission Granted
Here's what I know for sure: whatever happens with this course, I'm learning. The Zoom mishap taught me something I wouldn't have learned any other way. And I'd rather be in the arena making mistakes than sitting on the sidelines waiting until I feel ready.
If you've been sitting on something you want to try - a class, a recipe, a creative project, a conversation - January might actually be the perfect time. Not because you'll nail it. But because you'll start.
And starting is the whole point.
One Recipe If You Want Something New But Foolproof
If you're not quite ready to tackle Korean cuisine but want something fresh, my crispy rice salad is still the most-clicked recipe I've ever shared. Crunchy, satisfying, and comes together fast.
