I’m Ready…!

Today I’m taking a light hearted look at being ready to strike out on our goals.

Quite often this is the most difficult step for most people to take because they know only fear.  Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of the unknown.  But whoever we are and wherever we live, these fears are something we all experience…or maybe not…!

“I’m ready, I’m ready…”,  sings SpongeBob Square Pants, the happy little guy from the popular cartoon series of the same name.  If you’ve never seen the cartoon, then this little animated sponge character is the most happy-go-lucky creature!  He’s always willing to help, always goes the extra mile and is always willing to give new things a go!  He works hard and plays hard and his favourite activity is jelly-fishing!

On the negative side though, Spongebob is also naïve and has a childlike outlook.

But, there’s a lot we could learn from this character’s way of life, because we often feel that we are ready to make a change, we talk about making the change, we challenge others to make the change with us, but, when it comes to stepping out, we freeze.

The point is that being ready often times will not mean that we know the details of the path we need to follow.  What we will know however is the destination we want to arrive at.  With any journey, there will be many routes we can travel to reach our destination, and sometimes the route we choose will be a dead end or include a very inconvenient detour which could have been countered by taking a shorter route.

So, whether we are ready or not, and regardless of the pieces of information which are currently not available to us, we will need to take a leap of faith and trust that the further we advance on our journey, the more relevant information will be made visible to us.

This may sound a little like SpongeBob’s naivety, and maybe this is true, or maybe SpongeBob just has sufficient faith in himself or those around him to believe that in the end, things will turn out just fine.  If you’ve ever heard the adage ‘things have a habit of turning out just right…’, then maybe that’s just the kind of nonthreatening attitude we should foster so that we will at least give things a go!

I guess when we say ‘I’m ready’ what we’re actually implying is: ‘I’m prepared’, but in reality none of us are ever fully prepared when we embark on a goal which we have never previously undertaken.

And if we need any further encouragement, Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us that…

We are always getting ready to live but never living.

This must feel like a miserable place to be…always on the brink of taking some action, but never quite being brave enough to step into the unknown or willing to commit to the work or dedication required to realise our most cherished dreams.  To live like this requires that we fool ourselves that we are happy with our current circumstances and that we need or want no more.

Is this true for you?  Have you achieved all that you’ve ever desired in life?

I hope your answer is the same as mine…a resounding NO!  I definitely haven’t yet achieved all the things I want to achieve or experienced all the things I desire to encounter in my life, but I am making progress – strong progress in some areas and not-so-strong progress in other areas.  However, I fully acknowledge that I want these new things in my life and this helps to pull me towards the outcomes I desire.

I have no more courage than the next person when stepping into the unknown, and maybe I’m overly optimistic or perhaps a little naïve like Spongebob, but, where the alternative is a life spent missing out on the experiences I desire, for me it’s definitely worth taking a chance.

So what are you waiting for?  Let’s go jelly-fishing!

Are you like SpongeBob and ready to take a chance or is something holding you back?  Leave a comment and let us know!

Photo: -l.i.l.l.i.a.n-