Comfort Zones: Lies We Tell Ourselves To Stay The Same. Lie #4

4. It's not the right time.

“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.”― Napoleon Hill

For good reasons, comfort zones are hard to leave. In our comfort zone we feel safe and secure. However, comfort zones can become a place where we settle for mediocrity. I ask you is there ever a perfect time to step out of your comfort zone and try something new?

I would argue that there is never a perfect time for you to try something new. There is never a perfect time for you to launch that project, to spend time with your family, to write a book, change your habit, or embrace a new habit. Once you acknowledge the false belief that, it's not the right time, you'll be more productive and courageous.

Why now is the best time to start something new:

1. You'll never know when the perfect time will present itself to you. Will it be something you feel? Will it be something you see? Will it be when you hear that special phrase? Who knows. Life has a way of reminding us that we have no control over tomorrow. You can be the most driven, motivated, and self-disciplined person in the world but you don’t have any control over what happens tomorrow. I'm reminded of this daily in the raising of my daughter. My plans end or at least are put on hold if she is sick, injured or has some kind of activity. Tomorrow is never promised to anyone. Take advantage of the gift of today that God has presented to you.

2. The longer you wait the less likely you are to ever get started. Have you ever decided that you were going to eat healthier (for example)? When do you usually say you'll start? Tomorrow, Monday, next month, January 1st, etc. Why is getting started so difficult? Getting started is tough because you don't have an established routine, you don't have a set plan and you have not considered the importance. Life can get very busy. We often juggle families, careers, friends, etc. It can be difficult to carve out time to really focus on the new goal. To get started you'll need to set aside time to develop a plan.  You will also have to work on developing a routine. A suggestion to develop a routine is to schedule time each day to take action. After a while it will become second nature. If I'm going to exercise on certain days of the week it must be in the morning between 3:00 am and 4:00 am. It was not a easy habit to start. I went several days saying I'll do it tomorrow. I eventually had to take action by setting an alarm, setting my clothes out the night before and planning what specific exercises I would complete. Additionally, I did a self evaluation to decide how important this morning exercise was for me and my health. When you care enough you find time to make it work. Living a healthy lifestyle is important to me and an important example I want to show my daughter. Therefore, if I have to wake up ungodly early to exercise while juggling a full time job and a family then that is what I'm going to do. To get started evaluate the importance, make a plan and develop a routine.

3. Best to get started right away because it may take you a lot of attempts. We've all heard it before. You won’t ever succeed if you don’t try. You may fail along the way, but it’s better to fail trying than to never try at all. Ellen DeGeneres once said, "When you take risks, you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” It took Thomas Edison 10,000 attempts before he created the lightbulb. Dyson tried to make a bagless vacuum cleaner 5126 times before getting it right. It may take you several tries to get it right. It's best to get started right away.

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” — Mark Victor Hansen

There isn’t a right time for anything. There’s no such thing as perfect timing. If it feels right, go for it today. Don’t wait until everything is perfect or right. Get started now!!

If you enjoyed this post or if it challenged you, please comment below. I'd love to hear from you.