A client I am working with in psychotherapy recently shared that she wanted to start a new business, but only once she felt ready. She wanted to feel she was confident and certain...

A client I am working with in psychotherapy recently shared that she wanted to start a new business, but only once she felt ready. She wanted to feel she was confident and certain that she knew what she was doing. When we’re about to do something new or vulnerable, we might be very attuned to the element of risk or fear of failure. We feel the fear, the hesitation, the awareness of what’s at stake and many of us assume that we need to feel ready before taking some kind of action. Consider this however: that version of you who exists in the thing you want to do in the future, does not exist yet. If you wait for it to appear before taking the first step, you will be waiting forever. That version of you is born through action, through small steps towards your goal, even while the fear is present. Remember when you learnt how to swim or how to drive. You became a swimmer or a driver by being in the water or behind the wheel, not by standing on the shore or staring at a parked car. It is through the action that you become ready, rather than the other way round. The key to growth is to feel the fear but take small steps anyway. You don’t act because you’re ready. Act, and through action, become ready.