No, you aren't ready. To move on up. Answer when opportunity knocks. Make the big jump. Take on the added responsibility. Stick your neck out. Volunteer. Stand up and be counted. Take that risk. Make that commitment. Start a family. Begin all over again. Give up the ghost. Accept the consequences.
But that's not why you fail. You fail because you lack imagination. Gumption. Pride (but not arrogance). Faith. Maybe even a sense of humor.
Face it: if you waited until you were really, truly, 100%, feel-it-in-my-bones-you-betcha-by-golly-wow ready, the moment would've passed, you'd've been beaten to the punch, life would've passed you by.
The truth of the matter is that no one is honestly ready. Why else do we often find ourselves surprised/blindsided/nonplussed? Granted, maybe there's something to be said about some people being more prepared than others. Dig deep enough, though, and you'll see that anyone who claims to be Ready is flat out lying.
Accept the fact that you aren't ready. You may never be. But don't let that small detail keep you from going for it, taking that chance, holding your breath, taking the plunge. Seth Godin is right: that little voice you hear that tells you that you can't/shouldn't/mustn't is just the resistance. Face it head on. It means you're on to something. And the fact that there's a part of you that knows you aren't ready is precisely what will make achieving whatever you set out to do a true work of art.
The next time your lizard brain whispers to you, "You're not ready. What if you fail?", remember that there is only one reply:
What if you succeed?
2 comments:
I remember talking to my older brother before I graduated from college and got my first "real" job as an engineer, before my first child was born, before the Panamerican Games and telling him I wasn't ready.
Every time he gave the same answer - AnnMaria, no one is ever ready to be an adult, to be a parent, to be a gold medalist. They just do it. After you do it, then you'll be ready.
I know what you mean. I wrote this to remind myself. I think we all need to, every now and then.
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