I used to delay everything until I felt “motivated” or “ready.”
Workout? Tomorrow.
Start a new habit? After I feel less tired.
Apply for that opportunity? When I feel more confident.
But “ready” never really came. One day I just started.
Not with perfect energy, not with perfect timing—just imperfect action.
Now I realize: action builds momentum.
Momentum builds confidence.
And confidence creates readiness—not the other way around.
Anyone else stop waiting and just start?
Comments
exactly. you’re not gonna magically wake up one morning and “feel ready” to do everything. all you have is that moment to decide that you’re gonna do it even if every fiber of your being doesn’t “feel ready” to. mel robbin’s, podcast episode “motivation is garbage” was such a huge help in realizing this for me.
This is what puts you ahead of most people.
This was me, I thought “Ah the perfect time will come, one day I’ll start.”
Lol, that day never came. I would’ve been waiting a long ass time.
Now take action even if it doesn’t feel like you’re progressing.
If you start something on a day where you’re feeling unmotivated just imagine how you’ll feel later on when you are.
Yeah honestly this is the way. To be okay with taking imperfect action and failing hundreds or thousands of times before you get it right
I understand how hard it can be when you feel empty inside and lose interest in everything. Trying something new, especially when you have no motivation, seems almost impossible. But you have already taken a step by contacting us, and that is important.
Don’t think that you have to know everything at 20. In fact, many people don’t know what to do at that age. Focus on small steps, even if it is something very simple. For example, try to set aside at least 5 minutes every day for Japanese or something you want to do, and do not demand too much from yourself. Small victories will help restore confidence.
You are so right, I have always thought I should start on a Monday, new week, new me and all that, but Monday’s I was tired from the weekend. And so it never happened! After a bad health night on a Wednesday, I decided to go dairy free on the Thursday, and honestly it worked well for me. It was impulsive, but it worked and it helped me loads. Never will I wait for a Monday again
This is probably one of the most important things when it comes to self improvement.
I don’t even want to think about how often created this big plan in my head to just…not do it in the end.
It’s only now at my lowest that I started changing things.
Don’t let it come to that point. Start now before you regret it later on
This! I sometimes still struggle with it, but especially with workouts, I just think, “Okay all I need to do is show up. Start 1 exercise. If I really want to stop then I can.” I always finish my workouts, every time. The one day I was really just feeling drained and not in the mood, so I went to the gym and just started walking a bit on the treadmill. My plan was to stop after 10-15mins. I ended up doing some running and a bunch of other exercises too. Once the momentum is there it’s much easier and less daunting. Also, routines help so much. If you include whatever you want to do in a daily routine, you start doing it without thinking.
“If you wait for the perfect weather to plant the seeds, you’ll never harvest”
One of my favourite quotes is “anything worth doing is worth doing poorly” G.K. Chesterton. Just do it and suck at it until you get better – it’s normally a fear of failure/rejection that causes people to procrastinate.
there is no perfect moment
there is just the moment
best time to walk away is when you look at things from the perspective of sunk cost fallacy
best time to change something is when the pain of change is greater than the pain of staying the same
i figured around a week or two that i feel like shit, the circumstances are never ideal. action is the only thing that matters. i had told myself i can get things done that i don’t feel like doing at all. that also is where the big rewards are. start with something small. it could be getting a dentist appointment. figure out what is nagging you in the back of your head. it could be something that shows up in a dream or something also. if something or doing something makes you anxious i would say congratulations, there’s your goal and potential big reward. as op says, a small step builds momentum to more small steps to bigger steps.
Thanks for the encouragement yes, the mood never hits.