Hype the start

Well, top of the month to you, dear friend!

Top of the morning…top of the week…top of the month.

"𝘉𝘶𝘵, 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢," you may say…"𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘛𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 3 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮…𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰."

Yes…𝘈𝘕𝘋…𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁.

I’m starting a few big things today. I’m beginning some new (and exciting!) projects this month. This week is a big one that sets the start in motion.

With that, I am reminded of how the start often comes with a swirly mix of emotions.

There is 𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 about the good things to come.
There are 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙨 in the hopes that all goes well.
There is 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 about whether the preparation is sufficient.
There is 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 creeping in to comfort that worry with a reminder that the preparation has been underway for years.

I have a Spotify playlist called “Hype the Start.” I built it a couple of years ago when I was running a race where check-in time was 3 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 the start time. It felt like a very long wait filled with all the same emotions noted above.

In that waiting time, the Hype the Start playlist was born. It has lots of bumping beats and lots of profanity. It pairs well when the mind says, “Are we sure we want to do this?” and the heart says, “Hell yes, let’s go!”

What’s beginning for you this week? This month? This moment?

Let this be a gentle invitation to hype your start, to celebrate what it’s taken for you to show up at that starting line.

And in case you have a little wait in front of you…might I recommend a song? 😁

🎵 You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid – The Offspring
🎵 Jump Around - House of Pain
🎵 Sabotage - Beastie Boys
🎵 I’m So Excited - The Pointer Sisters
🎵 The Pokemon Theme