How to Start Even If You Don't Feel Ready
The Illusion of Readiness
If you’re waiting to feel “ready” before you have the conversation, start the business, or change your life - spoiler alert: you might be waiting forever.
Readiness isn’t a real thing. We treat it like a feeling that’s supposed to arrive, some kind of permission slip from the universe, but it never does.
Ask yourself:
How many things have you already figured out along the way instead of knowing upfront?
How often has starting before you felt ready led to growth you never expected?
This deep dive will challenge what you think you know about being “ready” and show you how to take action before you feel qualified. Because the people who succeed? They don’t feel ready either. They just start anyway.
Why Waiting to Feel Ready is Just Procrastination in Disguise
Most people think hesitation means they need more time. But more often than not, hesitation is just a delay tactic rooted in fear.
Here’s what’s actually happening when you tell yourself “I’m not ready yet”:
You’re trying to control the unknown. You think if you gather enough information, the path will feel safer, but action is the only thing that provides clarity.
You’re avoiding discomfort. Growth is messy! If you wait until you feel confident, you’ll never move.
You’re addicted to certainty. The brain craves predictability, but the only way to learn is by stepping into uncertainty.
You’re afraid of failure. Failure is part of the process. The first draft, the first attempt, the first launch - they’re rarely perfect. But they’re necessary.
What if waiting isn’t actually preparing you, but holding you back from becoming the person who can handle the next step?
The Truth About How Confidence Is Built
Confidence isn’t something you have before you start. It’s something you earn by taking action.
Think of the last time you felt truly confident in something. Were you confident before you did it, or did confidence grow as you gained experience?
Confidence comes after competence. The more you do something, the more natural it feels.
Your first time will probably be awkward and imperfect - and that’s okay!
The people you admire? They started before they felt ready, too - they just did it anyway.
Instead of thinking, “I need to feel confident before I start,” start shifting your thinking to “Confidence will come as I go.”
How to Take Messy First Steps and Adjust Along the Way
You don’t need a perfect plan. You just need to start.
Use these small, low-stakes moves to break out of inaction:
Start Before You Speak. Instead of overthinking, try something small - draft the post, record the video, map out the idea. No pressure to share it yet, just get it out of your head.
Lower the Stakes. Instead of worrying about whether this will be a success or a failure, just make it an experiment. See what happens. There are no winners or losers in experiments, just knowledge gained.
Set a Timer for Action. Give yourself 20 minutes to take one imperfect step toward your goal - send the email, outline the project, sign up for the thing.
Detach From Outcome. Now this one’s a doozy but will change your life if you can embrace it. Your first attempt doesn’t define you. Think of it as the first rep in the gym - it’s not about perfection, it’s about building muscle.
Every expert you know was once a beginner who was willing to be bad at something first.
5 Mindset Shifts That Will Change Everything
If you want to break free from the illusion of readiness, you need new ways of thinking.
1. Readiness isn’t a feeling. It’s a decision.
You don’t feel ready and then start. You decide to start, and then one day, you realize you’ve arrived.
2. Your future self needs you to move before you have all the answers.
The next version of you, the one who has what you want, only exists because you took the first step today.
3. Failure is part of the process, not proof you should quit.
Every “failure” is just data. The sooner you start collecting feedback, the faster you’ll improve.
4. Fear and excitement feel the same in the body - choose excitement.
When you hesitate, ask yourself: Am I afraid, or am I actually just stretching into something new?
5. Clarity comes from action, not thinking.
The answer isn’t in another brainstorming session. It’s in doing the thing.
Start Now, Adjust As You Go
So many people wait for permission, for certainty, for confidence. But the truth is, no one feels ready at first.
Instead of asking yourself, Am I ready? - ask: What’s the smallest step I can take today?
Because the people who make things happen? They’re just the ones who stopped waiting and started moving.
Want to go deeper? Learn about ways to work with me.
Takeaways + Tools + Prompts
The “90-Day Future Self” Method: Who Are You Becoming?
Instead of focusing on where you are now, shift your attention to the future version of you - the one who has already taken action. Ask yourself:
If I acted as if I were already the person I want to become, what would I do differently today?
What habits, choices, or risks would my 90-day future self thank me for starting now?
What would I stop waiting for?
The “Backward Proof” Test: Recognizing Readiness is Easier in Hindsight
Most people wait for proof before they take action. But what if you already have proof that you’re capable? Try this:
List 3 times in your life when you thought you weren’t ready, but did it anyway.
What happened? What did you learn?
How many of your biggest wins came from acting before you felt 100% prepared?
Your First Try Will Probably Suck and That’s the Point
Most people delay action because they want to get it right the first time. But the first draft, the first attempt, the first version? It’s supposed to be messy. The best writers edit. The best athletes train. The best leaders learned on the job. Instead of fearing a bad first attempt, recognize that bad first attempts are the only way to good ones. No one skips the messy part. Stop expecting yourself to be the exception.
Momentum Over Motivation: Why “Feeling Like It” Isn’t Required
If you only take action when you feel motivated, you’ll never get anywhere. Motivation is unreliable. It comes in waves. Momentum, on the other hand, builds on itself.
Instead of asking yourself, Do I feel like doing this? ask, What’s one small thing I can do right now?
The “Done vs. Perfect” Reality Check
How many opportunities have you missed because you were waiting for the perfect plan, perfect timing, or perfect version of yourself? Most of the things holding you back aren’t real barriers - they’re just waiting for you to stop overthinking and start doing. Try this:
Think about one thing you’ve been putting off.
Set a 30-minute timer and make a rough, messy version (a draft, an outline, a small action).
Decide that done is better than perfect.
Meditative Prompt
Close your eyes and take a deep breath in, feeling the rise and fall of your chest. Notice the space around you, the weight of where you are right now, both physically and in your life.
Now, imagine standing at the start of a bridge. It stretches out in front of you, disappearing into the mist. You can’t see what’s on the other side, only the first few steps in front of you.
Your mind craves certainty, but the bridge is not concerned with whether you feel ready. It’s simply there, waiting for you to step forward.
As you breathe, feel the tension between wanting to know the full path and realizing you only need the next step. Let this settle into your body and ask yourself:
What if I didn’t need all the answers to begin?
What if I trusted that the next step would reveal itself as I move?
What if clarity isn’t a requirement, but something I find along the way?
With each breath, picture yourself stepping forward - not because you have every detail mapped out, but because momentum creates its own direction.
When you’re ready, open your eyes. The path hasn’t changed, but your readiness to walk it has.
Creative Project Prompt
A Letter from the You Who Stopped Waiting
Step 1: Picture yourself one year from now. You finally started. You took the first step - messy, imperfect, but real. Now, imagine you’re writing a letter to your current self, the one still hesitating.
Step 2: Write the letter.
Open with gratitude - what are you most thankful that you finally did?
Describe how it felt to start - what was scary at first, but easier over time?
Reflect on what changed - what fears faded once you took action?
Offer reassurance - what do you wish your past self had known?
Step 3: Read it back. Now, sit with your words. What stands out?
Where are you holding back out of fear, not fact?
What part of this letter already feels true, even if you haven’t lived it yet?
Your future self already knows you’re capable - they’re just waiting for you to catch up. The question isn’t if you can do this. It’s when you’ll decide to begin.
Gratitude Prompt
Consider writing these out by hand in your own words and saying them out loud:
I’m grateful for the lessons that come through action, knowing that clarity and confidence are built through movement, not waiting.
I’m grateful for my ability to take the next step, even when I don’t have all the answers yet.
I’m grateful for the courage to trust my own timing, knowing that I don’t have to feel ready to begin.