In this reflection we abandon the fantasy of preparation.
You are waiting to be ready. To know enough. To feel confident. To have all the answers. To reach some threshold of preparedness that makes starting feel safe.
That day is not coming.
Readiness is not a state you arrive at. It is a story you tell yourself to justify not starting. One more course. One more book. One more year of experience. The goalposts keep moving because moving goalposts protect you from the risk of actually trying.
No one feels ready. Not the people you admire. Not the people who have done the thing you want to do. They did not wait until they felt ready. They started scared and figured it out along the way.
Starting before you are ready is not reckless. It is realistic. Because the learning you need most cannot happen until you begin. You cannot think your way to competence. You have to do your way there. And doing requires starting.
The first attempt will be bad. That is normal. Everyone's first attempt is bad. The difference between people who succeed and people who do not is not talent or readiness. It is willingness to start before being ready and keep going past bad.
What are you waiting for? What imaginary finish line do you think you need to cross before you are allowed to begin? What if that finish line does not exist?
Start now. Start messy. Start uncertain. The readiness will come, but only after you begin.