Waiting for The "Right" Time
“ALTHOUGH NO ONE CAN GO BACK AND MAKE A BRAND NEW START, ANYONE CAN START FROM NOW AND MAKE A BRAND NEW ENDING.”
Yesterday afternoon I stopped by one of my favorite coworker's office to chat for a minute while I sipped on my afternoon pick-me-up. A delicious mixed berry smoothie with flaxseed and MCT oil, something sweet + refreshing to kick that dreaded afternoon slump.
This particular coworker is one of my great friends. It’s funny because every once in awhile, I see that meme floating around “work will have you being 19 with a 35-year-old best friend” – while we are much older than those two age ranges, it is SO true! George is 20+ years older than me yet we are such great friends at work and outside of work!
So anyway, I asked him: “Knowing what you know now - at this point in your life - what would you go back and change? If you could go back and change one single choice, what would it be”?
A couple of his answers were, “I’d take better care of my body” and “I’d save and invest more money”. So me, being me, replied, “well, why don’t you start taking care of your health, now?… Why don’t you start investing and saving more money now? …If I asked this same question in 20 years, would your answers be the same? What if you started making your health and financial matters a priority starting today?”
Although he couldn’t narrow it down to just one choice he would change, it did open a great discussion that really got me thinking. Why do we tend to wait until it’s the “right” time…to take action? Why do we keep chasing that “perfect” moment to start new hobbies, to break bad habits, or set new goals?
I can say I’ve built up this far-fetched “perfect” scenario in my mind that provides the absolute best environment to foster all of my aspirations. But honestly, this way of thinking keeps pushing my goals out further and further with each passing day. Why? Because the “perfect” time doesn’t exist. There is never a perfect time to take action, to spend time with family, to start saving for retirement, to launch that project, or to end bad relationships. I think it’s when you accept there is no perfect time in life to start these things, is when the magic happens. It’s like we’re all living in this fantasy that we will always have tomorrow to chase today’s goals.
If we’re continuously waiting until the perfect time to pursue what we desire or make changes, we could very possibly be waiting for the rest of our lives. Our lives are not static, they are dynamic, and in a constant state of change. Our circumstances, living conditions, environments, relationships, health…these things are all continuously changing and evolving. There is not a perfect time to start; all you have is now!
“DO NOT WAIT: THE TIME WILL NEVER BE ‘JUST RIGHT’. START WHERE YOU STAND, AND WORK WITH WHATEVER TOOLS YOU MAY HAVE AT YOUR COMMAND AND BETTER TOOLS WILL BE FOUND AS YOU GO ALONG.”
So, I ask you, knowing what you know now, what is one choice you’d change in your life? Is this something you can change or start now? Maybe you’re 40 and wish you had gone to college, why not make that happen if it is something you truly want to accomplish? Maybe you’re 62 and want to run a 5k? Maybe you’re 30 and you’ve never invested? Why not start now?
Let’s not all be 89 years old and regretting all of the things we didn’t do because we were waiting for the “perfect” time to start.
Until next time,
Riss
