| Dear Fellow Genealogist,
Imagine yourself atop a tall diving board. (As summer comes to a close, I have swimming on my mind.)
Climbing the ladder rung by rung was easy enough. But looking over the edge, you start to feel uneasy. You’re so high up, and the platform is wobbly. Will hitting the water hurt? Is the water freezing cold? And what if you miss the pool entirely?
Despite your sudden fears, you realize you can’t stay up there. People are waiting to come up behind you, and there’s no other way off the board. At some point, you have to override your anxiety—and jump in.
Certain things in genealogy can feel like a high dive. A research question seems too difficult to answer, or a project seems so overwhelming that you don’t know where to start. But simply “looking down” in fear won’t get you anywhere.
We’re here to help you take the plunge. Today, we share advice on three family history tasks that many find intimidating: compiling “enough” records in your research, recording your own memories, and handling antique furniture.
Our advice for the first employs the “Genealogical Proof Standard,” or GPS. Like the mapping technology of the same name, this GPS provides you with specific directions to your research destination. And, like a good coach, it will show you how to finish your “research dive” smoothly and painlessly.
Doing a cannon ball,
— Andrew, Editor of Family Tree Magazine
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