Starting Point

It begins with, 

• A bang. The pistol has been fired. The runners leave the blocks. The race is on.
• The scraping of metal on dirt. Earth is flung aside revealing a hole. Construction has begun.
• A key is turned (or a button pushed if you’ve got a newer vehicle). The engine turns over and the vacation begins.

Each small action triggers something new. We call them starting points. They are the first thing that turns a goal into reality. They begin a journey that eventually takes us to a finish line, an education, or a new home.

I’ve been getting stuck on that term, lately. More precisely, I’m getting stuck on the timeline for the entire process. 

Understanding that a point-in-time physical action creates momentum to move toward a goal, it seems difficult for me to discard the origin of an idea, the diligent research, and the painstaking preparation that precedes those actions as irrelevant to the phrase ‘starting point’. 

Consider The Q and The A

Conversation starters are used to provide the other with a topic to open common dialogue. Generally speaking, these are questions.

I was reading an article that provided, in the writer’s opinion, good questions to be lobbed at someone to initiate a response and continued discussion.

Here are a few.

1. Did you listen to anything interesting today?
2. How much coffee did you drink today?
3. What app did you open most today?
4. Did you give anyone a side-eye today? What did they do to deserve it?