We often fail to pursue dreams because we’re waiting for the “perfect” conditions. If only we had a little more income, a little more time, a little more…something…we’d give it a shot. Whether it’s starting a business, writing the Great American Novel, having a family, or any of an infinite number of other things, we find a reason to put it off because conditions aren’t just right.
This is a lie we tell ourselves. There is no perfect time. There is no perfect place to start from. And the effort will probably never be perfect, no matter what we do. Believing the lie leaves us with a creeping sense of failure, an un-nameable unhappiness. It leaves us feeling like we’re treading water, working overtime just to keep afloat but never getting anywhere. It’s been said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and this applies to the pursuit of dreams too. You have to start with a single step.
Start where you are.
There’s no other place you can start from—if you wait until you’re in the perfect place, whatever your dream may be, you may find your life has passed you by and you never took a single step in pursuit of it.
Use what you have.
We live in a culture of perfection—we’re fed the idea that if it’s not the newest and the shiniest then it’s not good enough. This too is a lie.
Do what you can.
This is really all you can do. What matters is not that your efforts were perfect, but that you made the effort in the first place.
Mind Fuel Daily was founded to help readers find inspiration and purpose in every day. We believe that each person is capable of finding his or her best life here, in the present moment, and our mission is to provide the spark that moves you to positive action and thought.
