If you’re waiting for the stars to line up and everything to fall into place before you leap and make your dreams your reality, I have some sobering news for you: you’ll never get there.
That sounds a bit harsh, doesn’t it? If I didn’t have personal experience in this area, maybe I wouldn’t be so harsh. But I know that waiting until we are “ready” before we listen to our soul and have the guts to make big changes in our lives can be absolutely paralyzing. And I also know that life isn’t perfect – it’s messy and disorganized and chaotic. And we will always have more to learn and more ways to grow. Always.
We are never going to be “ready.” But we can be “ready enough.”
- If you think that you have to have a certain degree before you can leap, you’re missing out on all of the living that you could be doing right now.
- If you think that you have to do all of these things to prepare for your leap, all of that preparation will continue to keep you from leaping.
- If you think that you just need a little more time to be good enough or smart enough or ready enough, you’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of paralysis. You’ll never leap. You’ll never change. You’ll never do anything but wait and plan and talk about it and write about it and think about it but never actually do it.
That’s definitely not what you want, is it? It’s not what any of us wants.
We all have such good intentions. We all have such beautiful hopes and dreams for our lives. We want to leap – we really do. But we’re afraid to. And so that scared part of ourselves convinces us that we need to be ready before we do anything too drastic. We need to be ready before we leap into the unknown. We need to be ready to make sure we’re completely prepared for whatever will come our way.
Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?
- I have a positive message to share with the world, and I’m going to write a book. Really, I am going to do it. But first, I just need to live a little more and gather up some life experience because seriously, who is going to listen to me without that? Who am I to share this message anyway? I should probably wait until I’m more experienced – more ready.
- I’m really great at helping people. I love to support them in living fully. But am I ready to be a full-time coach? Oh, I don’t think so. I would need certification and lots more experience before then. Yes, of course that would be wonderful, but I just don’t think I’m ready yet.
- I definitely am going to get onto that stage and speak. It’s something that I feel called to do, and I really feel that I was born to do this. But…I’m really not ready to do it yet. I would probably need to join a speaking group and practice. Maybe in a couple of years or so, I’ll be ready. Definitely not yet.
- I do want to leave this relationship that I’m in. I know that it’s not a healthy place for either of us to be. And yet, I feel comfortable here. And I question whether I’m really ready to go out on my own. It would be scary – I haven’t been alone in so long. I’m just not quite ready.
This is what I know for sure: We will never be ready. Ever. Not in a million years. We will never feel that everything has lined up perfectly and we are 100% certain that when we leap we will land on our feet. And if we wait for everything to align before we take that leap, we’ll be waiting forever.
This is where faith comes in. Knowing that when we leap toward our dreams we will be fully supported by the universe is how we can jump off of the cliff before everything has come together perfectly. Knowing that our soul would never lead us astray and we wouldn’t be feeling these urges unless we were being guided is a beautiful way to journey through life.
And guess what? Sometimes we jump and things don’t happen how we planned – our book isn’t flowing out of us, our coaching practice doesn’t take off right away, we panic on the stage, and being alone is harder than we imagined. This is the messy part of life – the unpredictable part – the part that we try so hard to avoid. This is where faith is extra important. We have faith that we are fully taken care of even when things aren’t looking that great.
We can’t see the entire picture – we only see what’s right in front of us. While it may appear that your book isn’t flowing, that may be because something else is stirring and waiting to be birthed. While it may appear that your coaching practice isn’t taking off, you may have simply needed some extra time to tweak it until it felt just right for you – something that was completely aligned with your soul. While it may appear that your speaking career is over pretty much right when it began, you start to receive feedback that your ability to show how afraid you are is helpful to your audience – it allows them to show the same authenticity. While it may appear that being alone is excruciatingly painful, you may need to go through this stage so that the butterfly within you can eventually spread its wings and soar.
We don’t know what’s on the other side. We don’t know what’s going to happen when we take a leap of faith. We don’t know how our life will turn out. And there aren’t enough hours in the day or months in the year to prepare us for this. There isn’t anything we can do to be completely ready. Nothing. And isn’t that freeing to think about? Isn’t that amazing, actually? Knowing that we will never be ready allows us to leap right where we are in this exact moment!
You may not have the confidence or the degree or the experience to leap toward your dreams, but you do have the heart and the willpower and the inspiration to do it anyway. You are ready to live fully.
And living fully is something that we can all do right now. We are all ready for that.
Can you think of anything that you’ve been putting off in your own life because you didn’t think you were ready? How would your life be different if you took the leap anyway? Would you be willing to take that leap of faith now?
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Being ready is so much about that turning point in our minds. The human ego is strong enough to know that we’ll go after something aggressively if we want it enough. Yet, sometimes, the lack of prioritizing can put off the things that matter – while accomplishing trivial or routine stuff. We all need clear focus to achieve what we set out to…and oh yes, waiting will never get us anywhere. 🙂 because in this context it would mean stagnation.
Loved the post 🙂
Thank you so much, Vidya! I love your point about being clear on what our dreams really are and making sure we take the time to go after them. So true!
Well said Jodi. You’re so right, and as we change our mindset we can find ourselves doing what we thought we never could.
Encourage one another.
Elle.
Thanks, Elle! As you know, it’s all about our thinking, isn’t it? 🙂
Jodi, I totally agree with this post.
The only way to know if we can soar is to jump. The only way we can spread our wings is to leap.
I was drafting a post the other day and basically said the same things as you did: We can only be ready when we act. Only through action can our dreams be fulfilled and our visions realised. All the planning and preparation in the world won’t make it happen, but faith and grit WILL. Thank you for sharing this. 🙂
Thank you for sharing, Otiti!
This is so beautiful:
The only way to know if we can soar is to jump. The only way we can spread our wings is to leap.
And so true!
I’m off to check out your blog right now – I have a feeling it’s right up my alley! 🙂
Jodi,
This is awesome. I’ve got a project I was holding back on. No more! You inspire me. xo
Thank you, Tess!
I can’t wait to hear about your project!
Hugs to you!!!
Hi Jodi,
I can really relate to this post! This was me not so long ago, until I realized exactly what you were talking about here…you’ll never be fully prepared, or know all the steps ahead of time, or have all the training you might need. And you don’t have to have it all figured out ahead of time, that might actually mean that you’d miss out on those opportunities that just show up when you take action and are open to receiving.
Thanks for the reminder that others experience this same thing from time to time, to not let it stop you, but always keep moving forward and step out in faith.
Thanks for commenting, Heather!
I love that we’re all on this journey together – growing and sharing our experiences with each other.
🙂
Love this! The rational part of me still wants to emphasize that you have to be ready enough. But the Soul Speak part clamors, yeah, but once you’re ready enough, YES, LEAP! I agree not a one of us will ever be totally “ready.” So, ready enough is good enough! For me, ready enough is when I’ve thought about it, done a little legwork, find that I’m stagnating in moving forward, but can’t bear going backward or even maintaining the status quo. Time to take that leap of faith. Thanks for the great post.
I love that you bring up both sides – the ego and the soul. The ego will always want to make sure that you’re safe – that you’re going to land on your feet. And your soul always knows that you will no matter what. 🙂
But…that definitely doesn’t mean that I’m saying to go into things without giving them any thought at all. Our ego is a great asset, it’s just a matter of learning to differentiate between fear and truth.
Great comment!
It’s taken me many years to understand how much fear rules our lives. If we choose faith, we can work through the fear…I don’t think we can do it on our own. We must turn our fear over to a Divine power, asking for guidance and asking to be free of it….and asking for courage to take the next step forward. As always, a wonderful post. Thank you so very much.
This is really true, Lois. And something that I wasn’t fully aware of until recently. It’s really when we completely let go and surrender to something bigger than ourselves that life begins to flow through us. Great comment!
Hi Jodi,
This entire article speaks to me..each line has its own affirmation..and I’ve read it a few times, nodding my head yes, and listening to my heart whispers say yes!…so thank you! In my life, I had to release the “myth of perfection” thing in order to allow “ready enough” to lead me to extraordinary. Life truly is as magical as I allow it to be:)
Thank you, Joy!
It means the world to me to know that what I’m writing has meaning to others. So thank you for sharing that it does.
That is such a brilliant quote – Life truly is as magical as I allow it to be. Wow. So true!
Letting go of attempting to be perfect has helped me in my own life, too. It can be so paralyzing and a crutch keeping us from ever realizing our dreams. I’m glad we’ve both released it!
So glad we’ve connected. 🙂
Great essay! I totally agree that waiting for the perfect time to pursue one’s dream is a road to nowhere. My lifelong dream was to play a meaningful role in creating an animal sanctuary and care farm. Most people I know thought I was absolutely crazy and it would never happen. But I refused to be discouraged,and now I am living that dream everyday as a co-founder and director of Sanctuary One. Now my new challenge is, “What’s next?” Nice problem to have, though! So many opportunities, so little time…
Thank you for sharing, Robert! You have definitely stepped into your dreams and are doing so many wonderful things because of it. A great example, for sure! 🙂
Hi Jodi,
Excellent post. I struggled for years wondering if I was smart enough or had the right platform to put my plan into action. Well in January 2012, I decided that I was the best person to teach people how to change their thoughts and feelings about race.
Just call me fierce.
Thank you.
Linda
Thank you for commenting, Linda!
And congratulations for taking the leap! You are fierce and brave and inspiring!
Bravo! 🙂
Jodi, you preach it girl! We are never ready! If I waited until I felt ready to write my book, I’d still be waiting instead of enjoying the thrill of watching the magic take place between my readers and my words.
Jodi, you are such an inspiration. We teach what we need and what we’re learning. This never ends and I’m so grateful that you speak the truth that you hold.
Love!
Thank you, Leah!
You are such an inspiration to me. I can hold your book in my hands – your beautiful words are touching others. You did it! You stepped through your fears and allowed your soul to drive.
I love you for that (and so much more)!
Jodi, this spoke directly to my heart and soul today. I have just recently made the decision to self-publish my novel. It is a leap of faith into the unknown, but I feel God is calling me to fulfill this dream. This has required that I step back from doing daily devotions on my blog (which I did for a full year) and only post two per week, but moving forward does involve sacrifice, does it not?
You have offered such inspiration here to anyone who is feeling “stuck” or waiting for the stars to align before they pursue their dreams. Thanks for the encouragement!
Blessings!
Lovely topic J!
Never ready yet, ever ready. The paradox as I see it. The power of intention to live fully like you set, as the primary intention. No other intention than to show up fully and forget other intentions to do well and strive and all that approval seeking stuff!
“I’m not ready” is something I say and use a lot. Waiting for the moment I will feel ready leaves me anxious, so I usually chose to fix a date when I will think again about the problem and decide if I am ready enough. If I feel now like resigning from my job, but feel I’m not ready for it yet. I would just tell myself, OK, I will think of it again in exactly two months from now. I fix the date and time, and put a reminder. That is the only way that stops me from being anxious about all the things I want to change and can’t for now.
The things I want to do can be simple like starting a diet or exercise, or more important like resign or end a relationship. I agree that we will never be ready unless we put the first step into the project, but once we do the first step, we will be more than ready 🙂 <3
I see a theme lately in articles, quotes, and other things I come across…it is ACTION in spite of fears, taking the leap, deciding to JUST DO IT, etc… The overall theme is exactly what you are talking about in this article: Faith, and a willingness to let go of outcomes…Love this article, as I always do reading your wise words! 😉