Why We Keep Waiting for the Perfect Time

We spend so much time waiting for the perfect moment that we often miss the opportunities already in front of us.

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

I’ll begin next week.

I will do it when things are less hectic.

I just need to get a bit more prepared.

This is a phrase that we’ve all used at least once.

It’s easy to believe that a better time to begin is just ahead. After life returns to normal, our faith increases, or our schedule becomes clear, we’ll finally get started.

However, the perfect time is seldom the time! Life doesn’t pause to give us an ideal opportunity. It is never time; there will always be other responsibilities, other distractions, other reasons to wait. It’s a habit you develop without being aware of it.

Why we procrastinate: We don’t feel comfortable starting.

Whether a new project, a career change, or just a simple habit, there is uncertainty. By waiting, we will not have to experience that discomfort for much longer. To prepare is safer than to start.

However, it’s easy to turn preparation into procrastination.

We excuse ourselves for collecting more data and waiting for better times because we are afraid to make mistakes.

The reality is, nearly anything important starts wrong.

Nobody writes his best article on the first try. Every business has its own set of difficulties. No skill can be mastered without stumbling in the first few steps.

It’s not how long it takes you to get ready; it’s how you get ready. It is the readiness that comes by action. I’ve noticed this in my own life. When I delayed a significant task, I thought that my future self would be more capable of doing that task in the future than I am now.

Most of the time, it wasn’t the case.

The only thing I had done differently was that I had missed days, weeks, even months of learning and improving.

Another reason for waiting is that we think we must do it right. We believe that if only we make one mistake, it will all fall apart. In practice, minor errors are commonly a learning experience. What books, videos, or careful planning cannot teach us, they do.

Action provides clarity.

Waiting rarely does.

While not all decisions need to be made in a rush.

There is a time and a place for planning.

However, there is a time when further planning is not beneficial and is just another way of postponing.

Starting “before you’re ready” is often the ideal time. Not because you will succeed but because each step will teach you something that the next one will need. If I were to go back and look at all these opportunities, I think the ones that I have been the most thankful for haven’t been the ones that began with an ideal start.

There is no doubt that they were the ones I selected to start. The ideal time is not something that we find. It’s something we do first.

There is no need to have all of the answers before starting.

All it takes is a little courage to get started.