Have you ever found yourself feeling stuck and unable to move forward? You know you need to do something, ANYTHING, but you feel overwhelmed and under prepared… so you just keep… planning. and before you know it, weeks, months or even years have passed and you’re still “planning” your next moves…
If you resonated with any of that, then this blog is for you! If you prefer to listen to this blog in podcast format, you can do so here.
Today we're going to be facing these obstacles head on and talking about the power of taking action, even when you don't feel completely ready. That's right, sometimes the best way to get where you want to be is by taking the first step, even if it's not perfect.
In this blog, we'll be exploring the importance of taking action, and why waiting for the perfect moment or for you to feel completely ready might be holding you back. I'll be sharing real-life examples to help you overcome those roadblocks and start making progress in your life and business. As always, we will be ending this episode with an actionable task - how fitting!
Whether you're just starting out or you've been at it for a while, I’m hoping this will help you take your next step with confidence… because, let's face it, no one ever feels completely ready when starting something new, but we can’t let that stop us from trying!
Ready? Let’s jump in.
Waiting to feel ready is A TRAP.
Many of us hold onto the notion that we need to feel fully prepared and confident before we take action towards our goals. As I’ve gotten older, this has become more of a natural default for me. I think it’s because, as we age, it’s easy to forget how uncomfortable you felt before your defining moments. The pain that came before the growth. You look back, and your memories are overpowered by feelings of pride, and excitement, because that’s all you have space for. You forget the smaller, more frequent moments of discomfort, and just how difficult they were, that lead you to success. I used to leap before looking when I was younger, which, I’ll admit, can be dangerous and self destructive in itself… but it sure beats standing stagnant, while you watch the world develop around you.
The truth is, waiting to feel ready is often just an excuse to avoid taking any risks. And I get it, risks are scary. It’s not comfortable to put yourself out there. But the reality is that no one ever feels fully ready. There’s always another book to read, another course to take, another piece of the puzzle you have to invest in. More to learn, more to prepare for, and more unknowns than you know what to do with. And all of this can make us feel uneasy about taking the next step.
So, we wait. We wait for the perfect moment, the perfect idea, or the perfect plan to come along. But the perfect moment never comes, and we end up missing out on opportunities and valuable experiences. When we’re too focused on feeling ready, we overlook the importance of taking action and making progress towards our goals.
Look at me, and this podcast, for instance! I’ve been wanting to start this for over 2 years. OVER TWO YEARS. I had all the podcasting equipment needed already… I know the software… I’ve helped other people start podcasts… and listen to podcasts on the daily, so I was constantly reminded of my inaction… but it still took me over 2 years to start my own. It wasn’t a monumental moment that made me start, either… I just woke up one morning and was tired of waiting. I really wish I got tired of waiting sooner though! We could be at well over 100 episodes by now… but instead, we are at episode 3.
This kind of reminds me of a quote from a childhood favorite of mine, Tuck everlasting. Bit of a spoiler alert here, so skip ahead if you somehow haven’t read this story in the nearly 50 years since it’s been released…. Or watched the movie that’s been out for over 20 years. That can’t be right. 2002… oh my god. Well, this made me feel old. Anyway… still with me?
Angus tuck says:
“What we Tucks have, you can't call it living. We just... are. We're like rocks, stuck at the side of a stream.”
Only, in the book, he’s warning Winnie of the consequences of living forever, trying to dissuade her from drinking the water that will grant her everlasting life… but I still think that quote rings true for those of us who stunt our own growth by waiting to take action.
Don’t be the rocks stuck at the side of the stream.
So, now that we know that waiting is a trap - I feel like I drilled that point in rather deeply - and we’ve concluded that SOMETIMES you just have to start moving imperfectly in order to progress: I want to discuss the benefits that come with taking action before you’re ready. Because there ARE benefits. A Lot of them. I don’t have enough time to talk about all of them today, but I have highlighted 4 of my favorite benefits and I’m going to hit you with them right…. Now!
- Gain Confidence - Each time you take a step towards your goal, you strengthen your self-belief and become more confident in your ability to achieve your goals. It doesn’t even matter if you succeed with the outcome of the step you tried to take, it’s the action of taking the step, or even trying to take a step, that counts. This one is invaluable. I want to break this one down a bit further, so it really sticks. If you can place the importance, and focus your goals, on taking the action, something that is within your control, rather than the outcome, something that is outside of your control, you will be able to celebrate every step, no matter how small, you take. No matter the outcome. You will feel more comfortable in taking steps when you take away the results based pressure. If you haven’t moved in a while, you may not feel this confidence yet - but picture how good it’s going to feel in a couple weeks when taking action has become a habit.
- Increase your resilience - resilience comes with experience. If you’re not used to “failure” then it’s going to sting pretty badly when you hit a roadblock. When you get use to taking steps before you’re ready, you will get more comfortable with pivoting your approach when the roadblocks inevitably spring up. You will naturally strengthen your resilience, and the time it takes for you to bounce back.
- Reach your goals faster - logically speaking, if you start taking action sooner… you learn faster, you make the mistakes you were always going to make faster, you grow faster and you succeed faster. There are certain lessons you will need to learn from experience, and the only way to get that experience is to move forward and accept the challenge. The only way to reach your goals is to actually work towards them. Even If you end up taking two steps forward, one step back, every day for a month: by the end of the month you will have travelled a whole heck of a lot further than if you had taken no small steps at all.
- Learn about yourself and your business - Taking action before you feel ready also allows you to learn and grow. When you’re taking action, you’re putting yourself in new and challenging situations that require you to learn and adapt. This experience can be uncomfortable, but it’s also what helps you grow and become a better person. You’re building skills, expanding your knowledge, and developing a stronger sense of self.
So, we know the risks of not taking action, we know the benefits of taking action… but how can you actually start taking action before you feel ready? It’s simple in theory, and technically simple in practice, but emotionally overwhelming when you’re trying to trick yourself into motion.
Well, I’ve got 3 tips to help you take action, and we are going to briefly discuss them now,
- My first tip is to Break down big tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. This is a step I really struggle with taking myself, because I want to do everything all at once… but that kind of mentality can often contribute to inaction. You would never wake up one morning and try to run a marathon if you’ve never trained for one. Don’t try to run a marathon with your business in one day. Break it down into smaller steps. This can help you feel more confident and reduce the fear of the unknown.
- Surround yourself with positive, supportive people. Having a support system can help you overcome the fear of taking action and give you the courage to move forward. If you find yourself in a position where you don’t have this kind of support in your physical surroundings, join groups on social media for people who are doing similar things. Your support network can be online, too! There are many positive places that would be happy to have you as a part of their community - I know that the searching for sustainable self employment community would love to have you!
- Focus on the end goal. Remind yourself why you started your journey to self-employment and what you want to achieve. This can help you stay motivated and focused on your goals. If you’re a visual person, writing down these reasons and putting them in plain sight might help you stay on track.
Actionable Task:
Welcome to our actionable task segment of the blog, the part of the show where I get to tell you to do something and you HAVE TO DO IT. Ok, that’s not really how this works, but it would be great if you did actually take the actionable task on board and… you know… take action. Especially considering we’ve been talking about it for the whole episode!
Alright, your actionable task for today is to take 5 minutes and sit down with a pen and paper. A pen, not a pencil, that’s an important part. I don’t want pencils, they are wishy washy and under committed. They fade over time and can easily be erased. They also don't’ jump off a page when you look at them. No, I want you to use a pen because it’s bold and makes a statement.
Alright, you’ve got yourself a pen and a piece of paper? Good!
I want you to write down 3 goals that you would like to achieve in the next week, for your small business. As discussed earlier, please pick goals that you have control over. A good example of a goal you have control over is “I will post once a day on social media and optimize it to the best of my capabilities”. A good example of a goal you do not have control over, is “I will have 1000 followers by the end of the week. Make goals like the prior, not the latter. Remain in control of your success and journey.
When you have the 3 goals written down, I want you to put deadlines beside each one. The kicker is that they all must be complete before the end of one week’s time. I suggest picking a goal you can complete today, so you can get that blast of dopamine when you tick it off your list before you turn in for the night… then placing a deadline 3 days from now, and 5 days from now… so you can leave ample room for rescheduling if things pop up.
Don’t you DARE write any goals down on your piece of paper that you already have on your to-do list/do on a weekly basis. I want these goals to be things that you have been avoiding taking action on.
Think you can do it? I don’t think you can do it… I KNOW you can do it.
For the month of February in 2023 I’m running a pay what you can offer on my 1-1 social media and creative consultation appointments. These are an hour long and offered on a first come first serve basis. If you’re interested in taking up this opportunity, please visit www.searchingforsustainableselfemployment.com to book your Pay What You Can appointment!
That’s it from me for now, take care of yourself! Kbye