On Starting

Readiness is a story. Starting is a decision. They are not the same thing and they do not arrive together.

The most reliable way to not do something is to wait until you feel ready to do it.

Readiness, as most people experience it, is a feeling — a sense of preparedness, confidence, and optimal conditions. It arrives occasionally, unpredictably, and never at the moment of most need. Waiting for it is a strategy for indefinite deferral dressed as reasonable caution.