I have said it before and I will say it again. I have spent too much of my life waiting. Waiting is a form of procrastination. In my case, it wasn’t to avoid work. I have always worked hard at whatever interests me. Rather, for me, it was more of a form of delayed self-actualization manifested by waiting for just the right time.
I have waited until just the right time to start new projects. I have waited until just the right time to take trips to far away places. I have waited until the absolute, ideal, just right time to begin or launch a new product or service.
At least, that is what I told myself. I now know this behavior was just an excuse to circumvent fear, anxiety, lack of commitment, poor preparation or perceived inadequacies. Although, looking back, lack of commitment seemed to be the impetus behind most of my waiting for just the right time.
The problem with this is far too often the right time never comes. The new project doesn’t get started or completed, the grand trip or adventure is never taken, the new idea or product is never launched.
I convinced myself I was waiting for inspiration. I have negotiated with myself to wait until I felt more rested. I have argued with myself I should wait until I have more money on hand. Or, that I should read another book or take another class or purchase another instructional webinar series. You know, until the time was just right.
There were times I needed to do some hard work on me, personal work. There were times I needed to leave a toxic relationship or an atrocious work environment where I was burning out. But, I chose not to do so because it just wasn’t the right time.
By waiting for just the right time, I effectively forfeited having new learning and growth experiences. I denied myself the potential pleasure of glowing success and the valuable lessons of failure. Ultimately, I missed out on golden opportunities to be of value to others.
Besides, what does the “right time” mean anyway? Do the things we wish to do come with a checklist that must be completed before we can begin? Or, is it just some nebulous construct of a notion we generate in our own heads to temporarily make ourselves feel better for not taking immediate action?
How do we know when the right time becomes available other than another feeling? Is that our supreme and infallible test for the right time, when we feel like it? Or, is there a popup sign that appears somewhere in our visual field that reads GO? Does the man behind the curtain shout BEGIN? Or, do we simply reach a point where we have exhausted all of our excuses?
Worse yet, how many times do humans just forget about their high hopes, sterling ideals, trail blazing ideas, amazing potentials and possibilities because it never was just the right time?
How much innovation has been lost but for waiting for just the right time? How much pain and suffering would have been eliminated but for waiting for just the right time? How much individual joy and pleasure would have been created and conveyed to others but for waiting for just the right time?
Let’s be honest here. Each of us already know just the right time to bind with happiness, secure our families, rise up, use our voices, tell our stories, alleviate suffering, heal the sick, comfort the lonely, feed the hungry, eliminate injustice, innovate, create, inspire, teach, learn, grow, and know using our own God given unique natural talents and abilities.
It is NOW.
Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. – Napoleon Hill