Waiting to Feel Ready Is Holding You Back

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain

It’s a trap we all fall into: waiting for the perfect moment to start.

You tweak, refine, and second-guess every detail, thinking that just a little more time will make everything click. But here’s the truth ― readiness is a moving target. 

The more you learn, the more your standards rise, and the longer you wait, the harder it gets to put yourself out there. What once seemed like a small step feels like an insurmountable leap because you’ve overcomplicated the process in your mind. 

But here’s the thing: The only way to actually get better is through doing.

You’ll never feel 100% ready, and that’s okay. The trick is to start before you feel ready. 

By putting your work out there for the world to see, you force yourself to refine your ideas in public, gather real feedback, and build confidence in your ability to figure things out as you go. 

It’s uncomfortable at first, but that’s where the real progress happens.

Ditch Perfection

When I first started sharing my work online, I was terrified. I thought, What if people think my ideas are dumb? or What if I get criticized? 

There were so many questions swirling in my head, and I couldn’t shake the fear of putting something out there that wasn’t perfect. I wanted everything to be just right ― the visuals, the message, the delivery ― so that I could present myself as a professional. 

But that mentality only held me back. 

The truth is, nobody expects perfection, especially not in the early stages. People don’t connect with perfection; they connect with authenticity, with the person behind the work, with the growth they see unfolding in real time. 

When you share your work before you feel ready, you open up a window for others to see your process, which is often far more compelling than the finished product.

In fact, people connect more with your journey than with a polished end product. 

They want to see your growth, your struggles, and how you overcome challenges. They want to be a part of your story, not just an observer of the final chapter.

It's the raw moments, the learning experiences, and the honest steps you take that build trust and make you more relatable.

Action = Clarity

Sharing your work before you’re ready gives you clarity you can’t get on your own.

In the beginning, I obsessed over all the wrong things ― how my content looked, whether it was received the “right” way, and if it fit some invisible standard of perfection. 

I spent more time tweaking than actually creating, convinced that if I just refined things a little more, I’d finally get it right.

When I finally started sharing, I realized something surprising: I wasn’t even focused on the right things. I had been trying to do what everyone else was doing, assuming that was the path to success. 

But chasing someone else’s formula didn’t feel fulfilling ― it felt forced.

I had to accept that there’s no single right way to create, share, or build something meaningful. The only way to find your own direction is through action.

Once I understood that, I stopped trying to fit into a mold and started experimenting. I paid attention to what resonated ― not just with others, but with me. What felt natural? What did I enjoy working on? What ideas did I keep coming back to?

Clarity didn’t come from planning or overanalyzing. It came from sharing, reflecting, and adjusting as I went.

I had to let go of the fear of being wrong or looking unpolished and just put my ideas out there. Only then did I start to see what actually felt right.

Feedback Fuels Growth

One of the most valuable things that comes from publishing before you feel ready is feedback. It’s not just about putting your ideas out into the world ― it’s about hearing directly from the people who resonate with your work. 

It’s about knowing what lands and what doesn’t, what excites people, and what falls flat.

When you’re just starting out, it’s easy to feel like you’re flying blind, unsure of whether what you’re creating actually matters. 

But publishing before you feel ready forces you to face that uncertainty head-on. You get to hear from your audience and refine your work based on their input.

It might be positive comments that encourage you to keep going, it might be constructive criticism that helps you see things from a new perspective, or it might be crickets. But it’s all useful. 

Without feedback, you’re just guessing. You’re working in a vacuum. The faster you can start gathering insights from real people, the faster you can grow.

Every response ― good, bad, or nonexistent ― teaches you something about your audience and how to communicate your ideas more effectively.

When you commit to sharing your work before you feel ready, you’re trusting the process. 

The magic happens when you stop fixating on the end goal and start focusing on the steps that get you there ― each small action builds momentum, each experiment teaches you something new, and before you know it, progress becomes inevitable.

Just Start

The most successful creators and solopreneurs didn’t wait for the perfect moment. They started anyway, learned along the way, and kept showing up, even when they didn’t feel ready.

If you wait for everything to line up perfectly, you’ll never start. You’ll always be waiting for that elusive moment of readiness, but it will never come. 

The truth is, the best time to start is always now.

Share your ideas, your progress, and your journey ― no matter how messy it might seem ― and trust that the process will get you where you need to go.

The path ahead might not look like what you imagined, but the only way to know is to take that first step. You’ll adjust, adapt, and learn as you go, but you’ll never find your way without starting.

That’s all for this one.

TLDR: There’s no perfect way ― only your way, and you’ll only find it by doing.