“There’s no time like the present”. Who hasn’t heard that little verse at some point in life? It usually refers to putting something off and or waiting for the right time, place, circumstance to present itself before embarking on a mission. This outdated rational; until everything aligns, there is no point in beginning has more to do with what – fear, uncertainty, confusion?
This makes me think of climbing stairs. When you begin, you are at the bottom and your intention is to get to the top – that’s the goal so you take steps; one at a time, understanding clearly the course of action needed. There’s little dispute each step will bring you closer to your goal, your desire. You trust you can do it. But what if for every step you took up, you then would take a step or two backward? I imagine eventually you’ll arrive at the top but due to the back and forth, it will just take longer.
We’ve all been there; knowing what to do to achieve a thing but not always doing it or making it more complicated than it has to be. “Just Do It” was a brilliant catchphrase Nike came up with in the 80’s intended to rouse us to pursue our goals and push past any perceived challenges to get there. The message clearly was to take action and work past any doubtfulness or uncertainties that might slow us down and have complete faith – trusting that whatever we wanted we could accomplish by simply starting the process, committing and persevering which would then lead us to the desired ‘end game’.
Always one to confound a pursuit by overthinking a process; I used to be a professional doubter of my ability to tackle any intimidating task and for the longest time, if there was a slower path to a ‘thing’, I took it – getting bogged down in the planning stage ad nauseam. My reasoning was ‘it’s just me being a perfectionist’ but now I see it differently. A truth I’ve come to realize is that planning is not doing. Planning has its virtue but there lurks a tendency to get caught in the jungle of wait-until-its-rightness which is really just a delay tactic. It’s an energy burner and costs valuable time. Have you ever spent so much time and energy thinking and preparing for a task before you began the actual work only to realize had you just done it, you’d be finished by now? Or enjoying the fruits of your labor … It’s a rhetorical question, you don’t need to answer; I know you have.
In us all is the ability to solve anything that presents itself by way of our inner knowing. This is where the ‘trust and believe’ come into play. What if rather than spending all that energy on working around the doubt and fear and the mind-taxing ‘what ifing’ we just went with our gut feeling, we would most certainly be led to the best outcome and a life infinitely more satisfying. Learning to trust our hunches and nudges offers a more effectual route to our desires than does trying to only apply logic. No one knows us better than ourselves so tapping into our inner wisdom to make decisions and solve situations will provide a more personalized solution and is a game changer in the life-lesson department. This will lead to a more fulfilling life and guide us to our best happiness.
Whether it be a job, a relationship or a trip you’ve always wanted to take … stop chewing on it until it’s lost all flavor. Your energy is better spent just doing it – stop waiting for the ‘right time’ – not only is it mentally & physically draining, it’s holding you back from your next adventure. Say good bye to the adverse outcomes like anxiety, stress, and not enjoying the triumph. By kicking into action, your sense of accomplishment will be exhilarating not to mention the massive dose of feel-good and chest-bumping pride!
Time is passing, I’ve not met anyone yet that is getting younger so seize the moment to conquer your ‘whatevers’ more efficiently and just go do that thing 😎