Why The Perfect Time To Start Is Now

How many times have you told yourself that you would start something new at “the right time?” Whatever our personal or professional goal was—making more friends, finding a relationship, moving to a new city, or getting a new job—we’ve all been guilty of using this statement. There’s this idea that something will just magically click one day, and we’ll get the inspiration, or the thing we’re looking for will appear right before our eyes.

Unfortunately, we know that’s not true. Life is unpredictable; it doesn’t account for your “perfect” timing for your specific goals and desires in life. It doesn’t do it for anyone. What life will do is throw curveballs at your wall, making change the only constant in your life, and, most importantly, keep on moving despite what we’re going through.

That’s not to say you’re selfish for wanting to wait for the perfect time. We all would love to have just a little bit more confidence, motivation, and discipline to reach our goals and aspirations. Things like nerves and anxiety get in the way, and feeling unmotivated is extremely common and happens often. And it’s easy to lose discipline or never have it in the first place. It would be nice if those things just magically happened one day.

Unfortunately, they don’t. They never do. No matter how many times we tell ourselves to wait for the “perfect” time, that we’ll feel “ready” by a certain date, it never comes. And you want to know why?

Because there’s no such thing as the “perfect time.”

The “perfect time” is an arbitrary date we put in our heads. We never know when it is—what day, month, year, time, or even where we’re standing or what we’re doing at the moment that the “perfect” time happens. It’s an idealized vision of a more confident, disciplined you. One who doesn’t have the fears and other restrictions holding you back from reaching these goals. This version of yourself is ready to conquer all and faces no obstacles because they don’t exist.

The truth is, you’re never going to feel ready. You’ll never feel fully prepared for that interview you’re going for. At least, not to the point where you have no anxiety or fear  over it, and you have one hundred percent confidence that you’ll ace it. You’ll never feel ready to ask that person out that you’ve been meaning to. And you’ll never feel that you can just up and move somewhere when you feel ready to.

And that’s okay. But that’s also why waiting for the perfect time is a myth. That time doesn’t exist. If you want something to happen, you have to take the steps to do it, no matter how daunting it may feel. You have to work on easing your anxiety, building discipline and schedules into your life, and being okay with taking a risk even if it blows up in your face. That’s just life.

There’s no one out there who has ever done anything at the perfect time.

Instead, they took the chances and made it happen, no matter how grueling or hard or ugly or unpleasant it may have felt. They did it, even when they didn’t feel like it, or feel like they could do it. And they did it because they knew no one else was going to do it for them.

We know there are things outside of our control. But for things that are in our control, we often have to take charge. That doesn’t mean forcing things to happen. What it means is taking the practical steps and doing what you can to make your dream a reality. It means working toward that goal, no matter how small or insignificant it may feel. 

This looks like getting up in the morning to exercise even when you don’t feel like it at the moment, because in the long run, you know it’s good for your health, and that’s your end goal. It means asking that person out even when you fear rejection, because the fear will always be there. Most of all, it looks like reminding yourself of why you’re doing what you are, reminding you of your goal and motivation, even when it feels impossible.

We can’t wait for the perfect time to start. 

The truth is, the perfect time to start is right now. And if I can do it, I believe that you can do it, too.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash