If you ever picked up a Rubik's Cube, you probably assumed you could solve it. Then reality hit. Maybe you got one side. Maybe half. Maybe you peeled the stickers off and hoped no one would notice. Six colors, too many moving parts, and a whole lot of frustration.

Some people jump right in. Some avoid it entirely because they don’t know where to begin. Both reactions are normal.

Starting Anything is Hard

Building a habit or starting a creative project feels exactly the same. Complicated. Messy. Full of steps you are not totally sure about. It feels easier to stay where you are. Less stress. Less thinking. Less chance of screwing anything up.

Trying to make something meaningful feels great in theory, but in practice it can feel like the cube. Too many moving pieces. Too many ways it could fall apart.

This is also where the small reminders matter, especially the ones that center your perspective.
Here is one that hits exactly at this stage:

“Notice the things no one would but you.”
Rick Rubin

Sometimes the thing that feels tiny or insignificant is actually the first piece that clicks into place.

One Small Move

Similarly to the Rubik’s Cube, the only real way to solve anything is by following small repeatable steps. First you line up the white center. Then the white edges. Then the corners. You move slowly until patterns start making sense.

Creatively, it works the same way. You find the first step that gives you traction. For me, that is research and sketching. Those first moves help me understand what the project wants to become or what the habit is supposed to shape in me.

This is also where this quote fits perfectly, because it explains the entire point of the process:

“People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.”
F. M. Alexander

Your future is built out of the little moves you repeat, not the big idea you imagine.

Keep Turning the Cube

Whether it is a puzzle, a habit, or a creative idea that feels a little too big, the solution is always the same. One move. Then another. Even when it feels clumsy. Even when you are not sure if you are doing it right.

If you keep turning the cube long enough, eventually something clicks.