Why you shouldn’t let TIMING hold you back (and what to do if it is)

Transcript:

Do you keep saying, “The timing just isn't right to make moves on my goals… I'll get to that in the next couple of months,” but you just keep on saying this on a pretty consistent basis and the timing NEVER seems right? Let's talk about that in this video. 

My name is Sagan Morrow and I'm an anti hustle Productivity Strategist and internationally board certified Success and Life Coach who specializes in working with solopreneurs. Be sure to grab my free training, Anti Hustle Secrets to Solopreneur Success! 

Now let's get into today's video — this whole issue around TIMING as a solopreneur. When is the right time to do something? 

“The timing just isn't right at this point. But give it a couple of months and then the timing will be right!” 

…And then another couple of months pass and the timing still isn't quite right. So let's wait another couple of months. And then the timing still isn't quite right. 

This is a very big issue! So let's talk about it. 

Now I want to just actually take a step back for a minute. Because I am in my mid 30s and as a result, many of my friends who want kids are really getting to that point of they're either now having them or they are trying to get pregnant or they are definitely planning on it happening very soon. Now personally I am very happily child-free; I’ve never wanted kids of my own. So this just means that I get to be an auntie to a lot of very adorable kids. It’s great. 

Now I've had some really interesting conversations with my friends about this whole concept of timing around kids, because they're now just starting to do this at this point. And many of them have recently said to me something along the lines of, “You know, I've been putting off having kids because it just wasn't the right time before,” or something like, “I feel like I don't know enough about being a parent yet… So now I'm kind of realizing I'm probably never going to feel ready, now that I'm in my mid 30s, I still don't feel like I know enough to be a parent. But I'm probably never gonna feel ready. So you know, the time has come to just do this.” 

A lot of them have this mentality where they've been putting it off, because it was never quite the right time. And now they're in their mid 30s and they're realizing it hasn't been the right time for 10 years. “I've been saying for 10 years, soon I'll have kids but not quite yet.”

And nothing's really changed, right? They still want kids, but they haven't actually gotten to that point where the timing is finally perfect.

And so now they're deciding, “Alright, just gonna go ahead and do this even though the timing still doesn't feel perfect or exactly right.” 

Now, what really fascinates me about this is that these friends of mine are compassionate, really intelligent, very loving, loving people. They're very thoughtful people. They have spent a lot of time around kids and they have given a lot of thought to how they want to parent their own children. But they still worry that they're not ready. They still worry about it. 

…And this reminds me so much of what happens to solopreneurs in the business world. You might have so many qualifications, you might have done the research, you might have given this a lot of thought about what you want to do next as a solopreneur (or if you haven't started your business yet, you might have just been mulling it over), if you want to scale your business, grow it in a new way, pivot it; if you want to add something new if you're multi passionate, you might have been thinking about this a lot. You're probably very smart. You know a lot about your skill and your industry! 

And yet the timing still is “not quite right.”

You know, again and again, solopreneurs tell me, “I just need to do XYZ! I just need to do *this thing* before I can take action on my dreams or before I can quit my day job or before I can launch that product, or scale my services, overhaul my business structure or incorporate energy management. I just need to do these things first. The timing isn't right. Soon, but not yet.” 

And here's the thing: Yes, being strategic and intentional, giving it a lot of thought, is a great idea. I would never tell you to just jump wildly outside of your comfort zone without any kind of idea of what you're getting yourself into! Definitely give it some thought. Do your research. Absolutely have a strategic plan in place. 

…But the problem is that too many solopreneurs — and maybe you as well — haven't delved into your own internal bottlenecks, impostor syndrome or perfectionism or fears of failure, etc.

Or you might just be using those extra tasks, the idea of “After I do this, then I'll be ready,” you might just be using those extra tasks as an excuse for why not to do the thing that you really want to be doing. Because change can be scary. 

The truth is, you will never be ready. The timing won't ever be magically perfect. And that is okay. It is okay that you have high standards and high expectations of yourself. It is okay that you want to do a really amazing job. It is okay that you are worried about the consequences of all that could happen if things don't work out the way that you want. 

And you are allowed to move forward as a result. You are capable of going after the thing that you want. You are allowed to move forward regardless, you are capable of going after the thing that you want. You have permission to do and be anything you want to do and be; you are allowed to take messy action, you are capable of nudging your comfort zone and making awesome progress on what you want from your life and your business. 

Here's what I want you to do this week:

That thing that you've been thinking about doing — starting your business or learning a new skill or hiring a Success Coach or quitting your nine to five job or launching a product or purchasing an e-course or overhauling your business structure or moving forward on your goals — that thing that you want, set a date for when you are going to do it right now. 

Set a date, pause this video and set a date. Because if not now, when? 

After you've done that, then map out all of those ideas and tasks of things that you THINK that you need to do first, before you can start making progress towards that big goal of yours. 

And for each of all of those tasks, all of those things, all those XYZ things that you need to do first, mark down for each of them whether it's true that you actually need to do it first. Now, this can feel sticky. So remember, there's no judgement here. 

After you've done that, then strike out every item on your list where you said, “You know what? No, I actually don't need to do this task in order to make progress on my goal.” 

After you've done that, after you've struck out those items on the list that aren't really necessary that you've just been adding in your mind that it is needed, but it's not actually needed. After you do that, look at that list again. What is left? What is left on your list? How does that make you feel? What are you thinking about when you see how much shorter I bet that list is? Have you been using this task list as a way to keep yourself safe? (And by the way, that's not inherently a bad thing. It's just something to unpack so that the stuffs holding you back.) 

But are you perhaps much more ready than you thought you were? I bet you are! 

I want you to know that you are not alone. Okay? All of this is very common for basically every single solopreneur and every human being. It can be challenging to work through and unpack and process all this stuff on your own. 

And you do not need to do this alone: You can book your spot in Solopreneur CEO, and I will support and guide you through all of this and it'll be completely pain free. It'll actually be a very enjoyable process! Learn more and book your spot today.