WhatIfWhatIfWhatIf...

“I’m never sure one is exactly ready. You jump in, with both feet, into a very big fish pond.”

— Julie Andrews

I've noticed in my work that people often stop themselves from moving forward because of a conviction that they don't know what they're doing. Now, I'll be the last one to argue that anyone should dive into unknown waters, where dangers might lurk, in a needlessly clueless state. But often, people who are stuck in this way are incredibly smart, educated, and to all external appearances, fully prepared for success in the areas they're holding themselves back from.  When you're observing someone else in this position, it can be hard to understand the delays and avoidance, because these may seem completely illogical, even silly from your perspective.  Unfortunately, for the person experiencing internal gridlock, the conflict can be intense and very frustrating, because the reasons are very often not conscious.  To get right to the heart of things, the true fear at the bottom of immobility may be the projection of any number of outcomes, such as:

• Fear of failure. As in, "What if I fail? I'll be humiliated publicly. I'll prove naysayers right. I'll lose my shirt.  I'll feel bad about myself. Again."
• Fear of success. "People I care about will be jealous. They will have to adjust to the new me, and will be angry because it won't be comfortable. People will think I'm too big for my britches," (to use an old-school turn of phrase!)
• Fear of not being good enough. "If I let people really see me, they'll realize that I'm a fraud."
• Fear of the point of no return. "If I crash and burn, my reputation will be ruined, and no one will ever trust me again. I'll be so crushed that I'll never have the heart to try again. I'll live out my life in bitterness and obscurity."

Heavy stuff, right? But these are the most common worries that keep us from taking appropriate risks so that we can continue to gain experience, learn, and move (if stumbling) ever forward. If you find yourself in this position in some way, here are some ways to think and act to support your progress:

• If you're going to take on a goal that entails risk, it helps to research the tasks that will be required, ask the more experienced people you can find about what you need to know, consult books and the Internet, consider realistic timelines based on your resources, and work on amassing the knowledge and skills you'll need at your fingertips as you go. Then you need to formulate a plan that organizes your vision into consecutive tasks so that you'll have a map to follow throughout the project. These steps need to become a constant, second nature, if you want to make steady progress
• Acknowledge that you don't have to be perfectly ready in order to start taking action, because that would be impossible. It's ok to work out some things on the fly. No matter what they say, or how experienced they are, everyone does
• It's also ok to allow your plans and timelines to be as flexible as necessary as long as they keep you on track within any hard deadlines that legitimately cannot move. There will always be surprises in the execution of any project.  Berating yourself if things change is not helpful.  Adjusting is
• Finally, consciously remember to apply the habits and tools at your disposal that will help you to stay sane as you stretch yourself—proper nutrition, exercise, appropriate amounts of sleep and downtime so that you won't burn out, social time, EFT for your doubts and worries, and anything else you know helps you recharge your drive and enthusiasm

No one who makes a climb toward a goal knows everything. Neither will you. The trick is to accept that, and equip yourself with the support you'll need to get through challenging times. 

Take a moment to ask yourself whether you're convinced that you're not ready in some part of your life in which you've done a lot of preparation, but are not currently taking action toward what you want. If so, ask yourself why. Is it one of the fears mentioned above that worries you? Something else? Often there will be one feeling or conviction that stands out as very sharp and hard to ignore.  If there is, you might want to get help working with that rather than fighting against it.

Once you're clear on what seems to be holding you back, start mapping out a new plan that will address your concerns, even if it's very general to start with. Remember, you're always going to be learning and fleshing out your plan as you go along, because you can't just magically know in advance everything that will happen once you get started and what the best reactions will be. If you don't know what to do next, consult the best advice you have access to and go from there. If you do nothing, you'll go nowhere—pretty much for sure! Why not put on your shoes and take a few steps? You can always change course, but much revelation only comes to you when you're in motion, having experiences and making connections. Wherever you are, you're good enough and prepared enough to just start.