Waiting for the perfect moment. How long does that take? Does it ever really get here? Is any moment truly perfect?

Things can be as perfect as we can make them, but given humans are fallible, there isn’t any moment of sublime perfection, just noble attempts — like trying to nail down wisps of smoke.

I made the choice to go back to college full time. Heaven knows it was not the perfect financial moment to jump into that decision. We had already helped two children go to post-secondary school, so we had debt up the wahoo. Heck, why not add a little more?

How about the logistics of when? Was going back to school the right decision because I had loads of time on my hands to attempt such a feat? Nope. With three kids, my volunteer work and trying to finish another book, time was a precious commodity. I really didn’t have the luxury of time needed to add a full-time college workload to my schedule — actually, it’s more than a full-time course load, since the course is a fast-tracked compressed program. So, rather than be content with the typical five courses a semester, I thought, why not take a program with eight courses a semester. I got this (insert dripping sarcasm and perhaps a hint of panic).

How about age? What’s the perfect age to go to college? Right after high school? After discovering you hate your current program or job choice? While you still live at home with your parents? When you have kids? When they’ve grown? When you’re just crazy enough to put everything on hold and go for it?

Moral of the story: there’s no perfect time, just opportunity and desire. You come with the desire, but you have to make the opportunity. Opportunity is a conscious choice to recognize there’s never a perfect time for anything, there’s just a time that’s perfect enough for anything. And that moment is now. Like the Time Management Ninja says, we don’t have an endless supply of time, so seize each moment.

Don’t wait for tomorrow. Don’t wait for the right time. Pull a Nike and just do it. You’ll never get to where you want to be unless you move consistently forward. Waiting just delays things, and I’m far too impatient for that. It’s now or never. Go big or go home. Clichés all, but there’s no time like the present to follow your dreams.

For more on managing perfection, you can read all about how I subdued my inner perfectionist, here.

Imperfectly yours.

In gratitude,

Marissa xo