Stop Waiting for the Perfect Moment and Start Now
If you’re always waiting for the perfect time to start something new, you’ll never begin. Stop waiting for the perfect moment and start now.
Have you been wanting to eat better? Have you been meaning to workout more? Have you been wanting to get out of your job for quite some time? Have you been thinking that you really should end a relationship that no longer serves you? Are you longing to pick up golf again, or woodworking, or photography?
BUT
It’s too hard.
You don’t know where to start.
Your finances aren’t in order.
Your family needs you.
There’s too much going on.
You’re too old.
You’re too tired.
You’re not enough.
You’re too much.
You’ve got an excuse for everything. And you’ve been holding on to these excuses for years now. They just roll off the tongue. Like “Hi, how are you? Good! I can’t because….”
Those I can’t excuses are a part of you. They’re ingrained in your system. You take them for truth.
BUT, if you want to make real change, it’s time to turn those thoughts around.
There Is No Perfect Moment
Whenever I share my story of moving to Paris after quitting my 15-year corporate job, I usually get a combination of these reactions:
“I so wish I could do that.”
“I’m jealous. I would love to spend time in Paris.”
“I’d LOVE to quit my job.”
“I really wish I could travel more.”
My response to all of these statements is an enthusiastic, “but you can!”
I wasn’t granted special powers to do whatever I want. Fear was not waived for me. I did not get a crystal ball to tell me, this is the way, and this is the perfect decision.
I did do my research. There was some planning and projecting, and there was indeed some soul-searching. Mostly though, I just took a leap.
I jumped hand in hand with fear. I wasn’t sure where I was going to land or if it was going to work, but I was determined not to sit around and wonder. I had to try.
Letting Go of Fear and Self-Doubt
I won’t say that I’ve conquered fear and self-doubt. Ah, how I wish I could say that.
The thing is that those feelings don’t just vanish. What does happen though is that your desire to achieve something, feel something, or live bigger trumps the scary feelings so much that you can move forward no matter what’s in your way.
When you look fear and self-doubt in the eye and say you won’t stop me, guess what? They won’t stop you. And they will start to lessen their grip on you, the more you practice taking action.
Successful leaders are not without fear or self-doubt. No, they still have those feelings, but they learn how to move forward with them anyway.
How to Move Forward Even If It Doesn’t Feel Like the Perfect Time
Now I will caveat this by saying, there may in fact be some truly inopportune times to start something new. Living abroad for three months when your husband just lost his job and you just had triplets might not be the best timing.
BUT, staying home while the triplets are all married with children of their own in case they need you, could just be an excuse.
Shift Your Time and Energy
You’ve gotten super comfy with your excuses on why you can’t do something. Now, try shifting all of that excuse energy to taking steps to walk towards what you want for yourself.
If you can always find candy and cookies in your pantry, stop buying them on your next trip to the grocery store and buy some nourishing food in the produce section.
If you spend 60 hours a week at a job that you hate, try reducing your hours to 40 per week and take the surplus 20 to cultivate your new passion.
If you spend 10 hours a week on social media, take 5 (or more!) of those hours to scan YouTube for how-to videos on woodworking.
Turn the TV off for 5 hours a week and take a photography class. Or lift weights will watching your next TV program.
Stop spending time on the projects that deplete you
and instead focus on the passions that nurture you.
Once you begin shifting your energy to the things that build you up, you’ll start feeling more empowered to put more and more of your time there.
Continue to Move Forward
This may hurt to hear, but:
If you’re not taking steps forward, you’re actually moving backward.
The world moves at a pretty fast clip right now and if you close your eyes to all of the advances, you’re going to fall behind.
I have a few friends who have parents that don’t text or have email and of course, that means surfing the internet is out of the question. While on one hand, that might sound super liberating but have you tried researching plane fare or buying a plane ticket without the internet? Not so easy.
Whether it’s learning a new skill or hobby, you want to keep pushing yourself forward.
All There is Now
You think you have excuses now on why you can’t do something? Wait another 1, 5 or 10 years! You will definitely have some more legit excuses then.
We keep thinking that there’s this “perfect time” in the future. We think that we’ll be in ideal health, our bank account will be just right, our schedule will miraculously open up or better yet, someone will hand pick us to move us forward and show us the precise path. If you think any of that is true, you’re going to be waiting a long time.
The reality is that the future is now. Now is all there is. That’s it.
There are no guarantees on the future.
Commonly heard deathbed regrets include people wishing they hadn’t worked so hard and wishing they had led a happier life.
Bronnie Ware worked with patients during their last 3 months of life and she said the biggest regret she heard from the dying was, “I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
Don’t get to your deathbed to look at a life not lived.
It’s Never Too Late
So what action are you going to take today to move towards your goals and passion?
Take one step. No matter how small. Then see how you feel.
If it feels good, and I’m guessing it might, take another, and another until you find yourself in a new situation that feeds your soul.
You may laugh at the amount of resistance you held onto for so long that hid a wonderful future. You may regret and wish you took action earlier, but if you’re moving forward, you’re already in the zone, and in the here and now.
Go Deeper
Making change on your own is hard. If it was easy, you would have done it by now!
That’s why I offer one-on-one coaching to help you achieve your goals. Whether it’s losing weight, changing your job, or your mindset, I can co-create a plan with you to get you off the couch and stepping into your dreams.
It can be helpful to have some structure around starting something new. Being held accountable for your actions can also lead to greater results.
So let me help you meet your goals so you can wake up full of energy, happiness, and fulfillment.