Have you ever really wanted to do something but felt that you needed to wait until you have achieved something further and really feel ‘ready’? For example, I wanted to take up yoga but felt that I should really be eating perfectly cleanly with a balanced lifestyle before I was ready to get started.
Finally, I got jack of it and just got started, with the clean eating and balance coming later (and always in work, of course). As soon as I did, I wondered what was stopping me from taking it up before.
I can tell you: it was fear. Fear of failure, or of letting myself down. Fear that I would start it and not like it because I wasn’t ready to do it. Fear is often at the heart of not being able to get started with something, and with good cause. If we didn’t feel fear, we would walk around every day doing whatever we wanted, regardless of the consequences. We wouldn’t have the ability to react appropriately to situations in which we’re in danger, if we didn’t have fear. However, there is a point where fear is useless and debilitating.
I’m currently studying a business course by Marie Forleo, and one of her key lessons is to get started before you are ready. According to Marie, who has done extensive research on the topic, one of the traits successful people have in common is that they start before they’re ready. They may not have the experience, skills or knowledge, but they back themselves and they do it anyway.
There’s some instances where it’s tough to make things work. For example, if you’ve no idea how to drive a car, you probably shouldn’t get behind the wheel until you’ve done a proper test and gotten a licence! Similarly, in business, you need to do due diligence and get the appropriate knowledge before you jump in.
But there comes a point when you could seriously prepare forever. You could spend your life learning and getting more advanced, in order to feel that you have every box ticked and you know everything before you get started.
Unfortunately, we don’t have that much time. We don’t have our whole lives to prepare. We only have one life, and we have to trust that we will find a way if it’s the right goal and it plays to our strengths.
The trick is to learn from mistakes along the way. Learn from others as much as you can but ultimately, you need to just get out there and get started.
What are you holding off on starting? What’s to stop you from getting going today?