by Shaun Boyd

It bothers me when I hear people describe a personal set of conditions that need to be met before they can make the next move in their life.

Most often, they’re just making excuses — creating obstacles that aren’t actually there, placing the blame on some outside force they can’t control, and choosing to let day after day of inaction turn into many years of waiting for their cosmos to align.

In other words, they stay where they’re comfortable until it’s the perfect time to move on.

“Once I find a better job, then I’ll leave this one.”

“Once I save enough money, then I’ll stop living at my parents’ place.”

“Once I’m out of this stressful period of my life, then I’ll quit smoking.”

What’s even worse are the people who connect their obstacles in a way that makes their current situation circular, like a trap they will never escape:

“I can’t pursue my dream career unless I leave my job, but I can’t pay the bills unless I stay at my job.”

Then there’s also the people who have a thousand complaints about their life. They typically don’t even explain any connections between their obstacles, they just rant about anything that’s causing them stress, but do nothing to correct any of it. They’re so overwhelmed they don’t even know where to begin, and their easiest option is to give up.

If any of this sounds familiar, then my advice to you is this:

Stop waiting for that “perfect time” to make your next move. Perfect timing doesn’t exist. It’s fictional. You’ll wait forever for it.

There will never be a perfect time to leave your job, move out of state, and start from scratch. Similarly, there will never be a perfect time to get married, have a baby, or have another baby. That’s because no matter when you make these choices, they will involve risk — and it’s the risk involved that makes choices like these easier to put off until another day.

What you often fail to realize is you’re not just waiting, you’re stagnating. You stop growing, hinder your advancement, and basically become dull as a result of your choice to keep life on pause.

If your current job is holding you back, then you should quit.

Seriously. You can quit your dead-end job today. Just walk straight up to your boss and say “I quit.” Leave and don’t come back. The place won’t crumble without you. They’ll find a replacement and be just fine.

Then hop in your car and drive across the country just to see that you can. Just for fun. Just to help you remember that you have a choice.

No car? Hitchhike.

Not your thing? Walk.

I’m sure you see my point: You have more freedom than you realize.

So if you want to create change in your life, then stop waiting. Let go of perfection and act. Once you have, you’ll only regret you didn’t start doing it sooner.

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