please start thinking that this is a good time now
When I was in college, I had a very close group of friends, and a small handful of us did annual ski trips together. One of these friends was on the ski team, and various places we went to ski, we would wind up seeing skiing buddies of his from the serious skiing world. In 2000, we went to Utah, and while we were there, we had dinner at the house of one of his former coaches, who was still coaching young outstanding skiiers.
The coach talked about a current student of his, who he was hoping to get to the Olympics, and about this student's hesitation, his insistence that he would try out next year, when he was better. But it was always next year, next year, and the coach exclaimed his frustration to us at the dinner table, saying, "Would you please start thinking that this is a good time NOW?"
It struck me then, in a way that has (obviously) stuck with me, because I so strongly understand the urge to put things off until I can do them better, until the time is exactly right, and I also understand that most of the time, there is no time that's exactly right, and the best time to do that thing is when I can, even if it's not perfect or I don't feel totally ready.
If life is what happens when you're making other plans, then this is a good time. Now.
The coach talked about a current student of his, who he was hoping to get to the Olympics, and about this student's hesitation, his insistence that he would try out next year, when he was better. But it was always next year, next year, and the coach exclaimed his frustration to us at the dinner table, saying, "Would you please start thinking that this is a good time NOW?"
It struck me then, in a way that has (obviously) stuck with me, because I so strongly understand the urge to put things off until I can do them better, until the time is exactly right, and I also understand that most of the time, there is no time that's exactly right, and the best time to do that thing is when I can, even if it's not perfect or I don't feel totally ready.
If life is what happens when you're making other plans, then this is a good time. Now.