You're Already Ready

Stop waiting for permission! You already have everything you need to get started, and a permission slip isn't needed.

I don’t know who needs to hear this right now, but I find the mantra “You’re Already Ready” is a nice reminder when I’m feeling stuck, unprepared, or generally concerned about tackling the next thing. I wrote the following as a reminder for me and anyone else who needs to hear it!

1. You Have What You Need to Take the Next Small Step

You don’t have to start from scratch — start from right where you are. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry about all the steps it’s going to take to get to your destination. Just worry about the step right in front of you. You probably don’t have what you need to complete step 53, but I bet you have exactly what you need to do what’s next. If you don’t, then that’s not the next step. Break that step down, and do the teeniest tiniest portion possible to move forward.

2. You Don’t Need Permission

An excellent procrastination tactic is to wait for permission. To wait for the credentials or the go-ahead or “being chosen” or having the right amount of research or, or, or… Choose yourself first! Do the thing you want to do! Make the thing you want to make! Share the thing you want to share! The more you do, the more you’ll be known for doing that thing. And after a while, someone might even ask you to do/make/share more of that thing. If they do, you can say yes or no. Because you’ll be in charge of your own ship.

Here’s a tiny zine I made that might better illustrate what I mean:

The Creative Pep Talk Podcast (one of my favorites!) just dove into this very topic. I highly recommend episode 372 for more inspiration on getting unstuck, choosing yourself, and making the work you want to make without waiting for permission.

Thanks for reading!

Thank you for the birthday wishes last week! If you missed my post on birthday nostalgia, you can check it out here.

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