You’ll Never Be Ready
You should do it anyway
What in life are you ever really ready to do?
Let’s be honest, not much.
The only thing I ever felt ready for was to be out of school — all school. High school? Later! College? See ‘ya! I couldn’t wait to get out. I wasn’t sure what I’d do next, but I knew I was done with that.
The only reason I went to college was that I didn’t know what else to do with my eighteen-year-old self.
In the ’90s, you could go to college (a state school, as I did) and not get into a lifetime of debt. I went, earned a degree, and got outta there. I’m happy I went, but I was just as happy to leave.
Everything else I’ve done, I never felt I was ready. I moved to a city I didn’t know very well. I got married, got a dog, and ran a few retail stores. I just showed up and figured it out. I got decent at asking for help — not good, but decent.
I quit my career a month ago to write full-time, and you guessed it, I didn’t feel ready. Sometimes we get an underlying sense that we can’t keep doing what we’re doing, even if we don’t quite know how to proceed. It was that.
Fear and excuses will run out your clock
We build walls around ourselves out of fear. The walls show up in our lives in the form of classes we enroll in or time frames we give ourselves. We tell ourselves we’ll be ready when we cross some milestone. The milestone comes, and we push the marker further away.
I’ll write when I retire. I don’t have time. I need to take this online class first. On and on it goes.
Excuses are made as to why we like our current careers. Some may be true; others are not. Uncertainty crushes dreams. Procrastination will tell you to run out the clock. You like it where you are.
The scary truth is you rarely feel ready to take the next big step, but you should do it anyway.
“The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready; it goes on because it’s 11:30.”
― Lorne Michaels
That quote from legendary Saturday Night Live producer, Lorne Michaels, resonates. I imagine that show must be a lot like life. You plan, strive to do a good job, try to have some fun, and if you fail, welp, there’s always next Saturday. You get to try again.
If you stumble, it’s okay. You learned from it and will do it better next time. Perfect is an illusion, anyways.
We make time for what we value
I want to learn to play guitar. I’ve had a guitar for years. Know why I still don’t know how to play? Because I want to do other things more. Also, because it’s really hard and my fingers are wimpy. The same thing goes for careers. When you make time to nurture them, they grow.
“I’m busy” is a phrase that means I don’t want to.
People make time for what they value — period. I see people who are important to me; I make time for them. They reciprocate, or the friendship probably ends. Not in a mean, calculated way; that’s the way relationships work.
The same goes for whatever thing you don’t feel ready to do. It is ready for you — you just need to do it. Make time for it. Consistency will be rewarded because most people are bad at it.
Final thoughts
Whatever you’re not ready for, give it a go. Start with two days a week, then up it to three. People will soon think it’s innate in you when you practice anything that much.
It’s consistency. It’s okay; they don’t have to know that.
Consistency requires grit and tenacity, which most people aren’t great at harnessing. You can be great at it. Playing guitar is next on my mental list.
You show up regularly, and surprise! You have a new career or a new skill. People will call you talented. You won’t be ready for it when it comes, but you’ll understand that you need to grab it. The next time you don’t feel ready, do it anyway. A risk taken is better than regret.
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