Why We Wait for the “Right Time”

We all do it.

We delay starting. We delay deciding. We delay living the thing we say we want.

And the excuse is always the same: “I’m just waiting for the right time.”

But the more I think about it, the more I realize — this “right time” is a myth we keep telling ourselves to feel safe.

Here’s what’s been on my mind today.

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The Comfort of Waiting

Waiting feels easy. It keeps us in the comfort zone.

When we tell ourselves, “I’ll do it later,” we don’t have to face the fear of failure or the discomfort of the unknown.

• We tell ourselves we’ll start that business once the economy is better.

• We’ll travel once we’ve “settled down.”

• We’ll start eating healthy once work gets “less stressful.”

But that “later” keeps shifting. Weeks become months, months become years, and one day we wake up realizing we’ve been waiting for most of our lives.

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The Myth of Perfect Conditions

Here’s the problem: the perfect conditions never really exist.

If we’re waiting for a moment when we have enough time, enough money, enough confidence, and zero problems — we’re going to wait forever.

Life doesn’t pause and say, “Okay, here’s your perfect setup — go now!”

It just keeps moving, throwing challenges in different shapes and sizes.

In fact, I think “the right time” is only visible in the rearview mirror.

When we look back, we might say, “That was actually the best time to start” — but we only realize it because we started.

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How Action Creates the Right Time

The more I think about it, the more I believe this: action comes first, and the right time follows.

When we start moving — even with tiny steps — things begin to align:

• Opportunities appear because we’re in motion.

• We meet people who guide us forward.

• We learn skills we couldn’t have learned by waiting.

It’s like pushing a heavy cart — it’s hardest at the start, but once it moves, momentum makes the rest easier.

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The Cost of Waiting

Waiting doesn’t just delay our dreams — it changes who we are.

We become cautious, less willing to take risks, more comfortable in the “safe” routine. And comfort can quietly turn into regret.

The biggest cost of waiting isn’t lost time.

It’s the missed version of ourselves we could have become if we’d just started.

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My Takeaway Today

If I keep waiting for the “right time,” I might end up with a life full of moments that felt safe but left me empty.

Instead, I’d rather move forward — messy, unprepared, and figuring it out as I go.

Because maybe the right time isn’t something we find.

Maybe it’s something we create.

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