The first push is the hardest

I was very lucky when I was young to come across this concept: ACTIVATION ENERGY.

I want to show it to you today. If you’re feeling stuck, stranded, unable to get going—this idea may just be the trigger you need. It certainly did wonders for me.

In science, activation energy is the minimum energy needed to start a chemical reaction. Not to keep it going—just to get it going. You need to push the system over a little hump before it can take off on its own. Once that barrier is crossed, the reaction often proceeds rapidly and effortlessly, sometimes even releasing more energy than it took to start.

You see it in a matchstick: the friction of striking it provides a burst of energy—enough to ignite the chemicals on the tip. After that, the flame sustains itself.

You see it in your own body: the enzymes in your cells exist to lower the activation energy of the reactions that keep you alive. Without them, you’d need dangerous amounts of heat to digest your lunch.

You see it in nature: photosynthesis needs a jolt of sunlight before it can turn water and carbon dioxide into food. Life hinges on that first push.

That first push—that’s where most of us falter.

Especially when we’re young, the world can feel like a brick wall, not a door. You’re brimming with potential, yet stuck on the sofa. You want to start—writing, studying, creating, applying—but something inside drags. It’s not laziness. It’s not lack of ambition. It’s just that the activation energy hasn’t come. No spark. No lift-off.

We tend to think the problem is the whole journey. But really, the hardest part is that tiny initial surge. The moment of decision. The start. Once you begin, things often become easier than you feared. But before that—before the muscle warms, the mind engages, the feedback loops start forming—it feels impossible.

I’ve seen this in my own life, again and again. The moment before I sit down to write. The anxiety before I take the first step in a new venture. The weight of having to do something tedious or even unpleasant. I’ve learned to stop waiting for the mood, or the clarity, or the ideal conditions. I’ve learned to just begin. Light the match. Trust that momentum will follow.

In working life, the art of execution often lies in overcoming the activation energy hump. Too many project managers delay action while waiting to construct the perfect plan, secure flawless alignment of resources, or anticipate every possible roadblock. This is often a mistake. Human endeavour cannot be perfectly planned; it must be initiated and activated. What follows is a process of iterative learning, not flawless foresight.

For young people especially, understanding activation energy is very important. So many are stalled not because they don’t know what to do, but because they don’t know how to begin. The secret? Don’t look too far ahead. Don’t plan out the whole journey. Just do the small, brave thing that gets you moving. One email. One phone call. One minute of focus. One lap around the field. That’s how you hack the activation energy of life.

And here’s the surprising part, the bit no one tells you: once you cross that invisible threshold, the road often becomes lighter. The energy you put in at the beginning isn’t needed at every step. You just needed it to get going. After that, the system begins to feed itself. Confidence builds. Habits form. Identity shifts. You become someone who moves—and learns from moving, not pondering.

 

THE SIGNAL IN THE NOISE

Getting started always feels harder than keeping going. That’s not failure—it’s physics. So don’t wait to feel ready. Just break the inertia. A small push now can unlock everything later.

 

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