Stop Waiting for the Right Time—It Doesn’t Exist

For years, I told myself the same comforting lie: “I’ll start when the timing is right.”

I’d repeat it like a mantra whenever a big idea tugged at me—launching a side business, learning a new skill, moving to a new city, writing that book I always talked about. I kept waiting for that mythical season of life where the path would be clear, the obstacles would be minimal, and the stars would line up in my favor.

But you know what? That season never came.

What came instead was more waiting, more second-guessing, and more regret.

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The Wake-Up Call

One day, a friend asked me, “When exactly will the right time show up? Next week? Next year? When you’re 60?”

I laughed nervously, but the truth stung. I didn’t have an answer—because deep down, I knew there was no “right time.” There was only now or later. And later had already stolen years from me.

I realized that my idea of “perfect timing” was just a disguise for fear. Fear of failing. Fear of looking foolish. Fear of being judged.

The problem wasn’t that the time wasn’t right—it was that I wasn’t willing to start messy, imperfect, and unprepared.

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Starting Before I Felt Ready

The first time I broke my own pattern was when I finally started my writing journey.

I didn’t have a polished website. I didn’t have a clear niche. I didn’t even know if anyone would read my work. But one morning, instead of saying, “I’ll start next month,” I opened my laptop and began typing.

That first article wasn’t perfect—far from it. I cringed at my sentence structure. I re-read it five times before hitting publish. But the next morning, I wrote another one. And another.

Something surprising happened: instead of waiting for confidence before I started, I found that confidence came from starting.

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Momentum Doesn’t Need Permission

Once I began, I noticed how momentum works in real life. It doesn’t wait for a grand opening ceremony. It starts small—like a push on a swing—and grows stronger each time you show up.

I’d always imagined that successful people had a perfect plan before taking action. But as I read more stories and met more creators, entrepreneurs, and dreamers, I saw the same pattern: most of them started without perfect timing, without total clarity, and without permission from anyone else.

They didn’t wait for a gap in life’s chaos—they built their dreams in the middle of it.

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Why We Wait

I think we all have our version of the “right time” myth.

• “I’ll do it when I have more money.”

• “I’ll do it when I feel more confident.”

• “I’ll do it when the kids are older.”

• “I’ll do it when life settles down.”

The truth? Life rarely settles down. And even if it does, another storm eventually comes.

If we keep postponing our dreams until all the lights turn green, we’ll be waiting forever.

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Small Steps, Big Shifts

When I stopped waiting for perfect timing, I didn’t suddenly overhaul my life in one day. Instead, I began making small, consistent moves:

• Writing for 20 minutes before work

• Sharing my ideas online, even if they weren’t fully polished

• Saying yes to opportunities before I felt 100% ready

• Choosing progress over perfection

Those little actions compounded over time. What once felt intimidating slowly became part of my normal rhythm.

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The Messy Middle

Here’s something important: starting early doesn’t mean it’s easy. I still stumbled. I still doubted myself. I still had days where I wanted to quit.

But here’s the difference—because I had already started, I had momentum to keep me going. I had small wins to look back on. I had proof that I was capable of taking action, even in less-than-ideal circumstances.

It turns out that waiting for the perfect time was keeping me in the safest place possible: the starting line. And the starting line is comfortable, but nothing grows there.

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Looking Back Now

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had kept waiting. I might still be daydreaming about writing “one day.” I might still be convincing myself that next month will feel better.

But now, I have published pieces, readers who connect with my words, and a sense of pride that I didn’t need perfect timing to begin.

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Moral of the Story:

The right time is a story we tell ourselves to avoid the discomfort of starting. The truth is, every day you delay is a day you could be building something real. Start now—not because you’re ready, but because your future self will thank you for it.

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Thank you for reading...

Regards: Fazal Hadi