The contagion of beginning…

“If we wait for the moment when everything is ready, we will never begin.” Ivan Turgenev

Everything can be improved upon. No idea, concept or plan is perfect. In fact, everything we do in life falls far short of being as good as it possibly could be. And that is okay.

Take a deep breath. Let it out. Yes, nothing we ever do will be perfect, and that is okay.

As a person that likes to do things “right” I know how hard it can be to balance between making sure that some idea is “ready” and when is it “ready enough.”

We can always wait one more day, and then begin. We can always rehearse the presentation or pitch just one more time. We can always review and edit the plan (or the blog post) just a little bit more and make it better. But what if “one more day” turns into never? What if the extra time rehearsing makes the presentation feel scripted or canned instead of real and authentic? What the extra time editing and reviewing removes the real and raw emotion and prevents “publish” from ever being clicked? What great works have been lost to the annals of time because the creator of the work spent all their time getting ready, but never actually started on the effort itself?

Seek to find the balance between “right” and “right now.” Know when you have reached the point of “good enough” and then begin. Make the commitment to beginning a higher priority that the commitment to getting ready.

Throughout life I have found that waiting can be contagious, but so is taking action. Be sure that you are a carrier of the contagion of beginning, and not the carrier of the disease of seeking perfection before beginning.