It's ok to be a beginner
When people want to start something new they delay it because they're afraid of sucking and they want the first step to be perfect.
They make excuses in their head like
- "I don't know how to do it"
- "I'm gonna be bad at it"
- "I don't have enough time"
These excuses may be true but so what?
Yes, you don't know how to do it.
Yes, you're going to be bad at it.
Yes, you don't have unlimited time.
Researching won't change that, researching is a form of procrastination.
People don't research because it's the right thing to do, they do it because they're afraid to start and research feels like progress without having to do real work.
Don't let anxiety stop you
There will be anxiety.
Some people will have more than others but everyone will have some.
The only cure is action.
Acting does three things
- Exposes challenges you're going to face
- Gives you momentum from the challenges you solve on your way
- Makes you too busy to sit around and worry
So accept that you're going to suck and take that first step.
You will realize how bad you are, but you don't have to stay that way.
Unlike if you were researching forever.
You can't research on step zero
First of all, there's too many unknown unknowns.
You don't know what you don't know that you need to know.
Second, you lack the ability to filter good advice from bad.
Consider someone who wants start bodybuilding and research the professionals.
They find Arnold & Dorian, two Mr. Olympia winners.
Arnold suggests working out 6 times a week, sometimes twice a day.
Dorian suggests working out 3-4 times a week, between 40-60 minute sessions.
These suggestions are polar opposites, yet both come from experts at the top of their field.
How could a beginner possibly know whose advice is better?
They couldn't, bodybuilding just like most other things is too complicated to be reduced to a simple statement like this.
Context & experience is needed to know what would work for you, two things a beginner doesn't have.
It's the same for most other fields, programming for example.
How can someone who has never written a single line decide if he should start with Python, Java, React or a full framework like Laravel?
You can find skilled programmers with good arguments any of the above.
Researching after step one
Once you've taken action you're going to see advice & information in a new light.
Practicing your new craft will reveal questions that need answers to you.
That is the time to research.
When searching for answers to these questions you will pick the wrong advice again and again and follow it incorrectly, but you will do it better than if you had zero experience.
Practicing will guide you toward what advice to take.
Some people will do better following Yates advice and some following Arnolds.
This is something you will have a gut feeling for after some experience working out.
Research should be used to find options to experiment with and if you're not working then you're not experimenting.
So get out of the hell that is step zero and then keep researching and iterating from there.