Some of us put our dreams on hold for decades. We keep waiting for circumstances to change before we start living our lives. 

Does that sound like you? 

Maybe you say things like “I’m waiting until the kids leave home to write my book” Or “I’m waiting until I’ve lost ten pounds to start going to the gym”. 

Or maybe it’s something less concrete. Like “I’m waiting until I feel like it” to do something important. Or “I’m waiting until she learns to behave” to start being a better person yourself. 

Or maybe, like most people these days, you’re waiting for things go back to normal. 

Really? Are you really willing to waste precious days of your life waiting for something over which you have no control? Are you willing to put yourself through emotional highs and lows depending on what life throws at you? If your state is about to open, you’ll feel happy. If it’s not, you’ll continue to blame the world for your misery. 

Listen my love. You have no guarantee the kids will actually leave home, or not come back later. You have no guarantee how long your boss will stay, or if the next one won’t be the same. Nor do you know how long the current crisis will last. Or whether the next one won’t be worse. 

We don’t live in a perfect world. And these days, it’s anything but ideal. There’s pain and grief, and much to worry about. But it was never ideal was it, especially for the billions who were dealt bad cards in an unfair world. 

So why are you waiting for perfection? Why are you expecting that one day, somehow, everything will fall in place? Your circumstances will be ideal. People will become angels. The world will be bliss.

Life’s not like that. Challenges have always existed, and will only rise as our reality becomes increasingly interconnected, chaotic and uncertain. Waiting for the perfect moment is the wait of a lifetime. And one filled with negativity and despair. 

I’m sure you know the feeling when you need to do something, maybe work on a presentation, maybe prepare a special meal, and you take the very first step. You brainstorm ideas and reserve the meeting room, you find the recipes and write down the ingredients. There’s immense confidence that comes with getting started. 

It’s the same with your big dreams in life. When you take that first step, you instantly stop living in the negative space of your unmet dreams. You stop off-loading your frustrations on others to make yourself feel better. 

And it’s far easier to continue once you’ve begun. The momentum will take you along. The wins will fire you up. And the failures won’t bring you down, because they’ll land in the soft container of your rising confidence.

Whoever you are, and wherever you are, find what’s in your power to change, and begin today. What will you change to start living your life? 

What are the dreams you’ve been putting off? What’s on your one day list? A book? Art? Losing weight? Fixing a relationship? Feeling happier and more energized? Or has the crisis ignited your moral imagination? You can imagine what’s possible for a better future, and you want to do your part in making it a reality. 

Start where you are. But start TODAY. Start this moment. Because the present is all we really have.