How do you know when you're ready? Ready for anything really. What does it take for you to finally get to a place mentally that feels like you're prepared? There are so many things in this world that are beyond our control. Things that seem to jump out at us when we least expect it. If you're reading this then you've managed to overcome those things whether you were ready for them or not. Sure there are things in our lives that we may hesitate in doing until everything is ideal, but all too often we don't have that luxury. In some cases we are at our best when situations are thrust upon us. We behave like a muscle being forced to lift a heavy weight. We must grow stronger to overcome. Being prepared may have allowed us time to assess the situation fully, but there are times when we simply have to act without a fully formed planned to refer back to. Could it be argued that some of the best things in our lives are those that are sprung on us?
There have been many opportunities in my life that I've let go by because I've talked myself out of being ready. I reminds me a bit of Casey at the Bat, where waiting for the ideal pitch just means you've left yourself with a single chance to succeed or fail. It makes me wonder though if my hesitation has lead me down the path of where I'm supposed to be. If I didn't feel ready for something does that mean I wasn't? It's possible if I had been forced to go forward not feeling 100% committed to the decision that I may have fallen on my face, but is that any worse than watching an opportunity sail by because you didn't want to swing at it? I suppose both could be considering failures in their own right.
As with many things, the picture becomes clear as we look back on it. Our decisions may seem irrational or erratic when we view them along with the eventual outcome of it all. Sometimes I think it would be better if we could know our future to some degree. To know that if you take Option A that things will turn out alright. You may not get the details of how you'll get there, but you know in the end that things will be fine. That kind of peace of mind would make decisions so much easier. It's obviously not an option though. That sense of not knowing can leave us paralyzed in such a way that it seems better to stay put, even if we know it's not what we want. A known bad situation is better than a potentially worse one. The chance for a reward doesn't justify the gamble. As we get older though we start to see all the miss opportunities. We see all the times that we could have taken that leap, but instead chose to be cautious. Being cautious isn't always a bad thing. It can lead to regret for a life not lived. Still the question remains: How do you know when you're ready? Do you wait for a sign? Do you prepare yourself as much as possible and when the time comes make that jump regardless of if things are perfect? Maybe there is a limit to the amount of readiness we can have for anything. After that we're just stalling. I guess it comes down to which you'd rather live with; an opportunity that has a chance of failure or a missed opportunity that means you can't possible fail, but you have no chance at success either?
