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How often have you heard someone say, “I’ll make a change once the timing is right” or “I’m just waiting for the perfect opportunity”?

We often postpone career changes or important decisions because we believe the conditions aren’t quite right. We wait for clarity, for stability, for some invisible threshold that signals “ok, now is safe.”

That moment rarely arrives.

Waiting can feel like the safe choice. But often, it just keeps you stuck. The excuses all sound logical, but they mostly help you avoid uncertainty and failure.

And so you stay still.

The idea of “perfect timing” is comforting, but it’s also paralyzing and it puts the control outside yourself.

One of the most common barriers I hear from people contemplating change is, “What if I’m not ready?” The question usually isn’t about readiness. It’s about fear of not being enough, of making the wrong move, of regret. If you speak to people who’ve made brave career pivots, you’ll notice a pattern. Most didn’t feel “ready.” They acted even with doubt, not in its total absence.

You will rarely feel ready for something that requires you to grow..

One of the most empowering reframes is this: you don’t need a perfect plan to begin. You only need enough clarity to take the next small, intelligent step.