There's Never a Good Time To Do Anything

A quote that stuck with me since I first read it is:

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." - Earl Nightingale.

The time will pass anyway. Regardless of how you spend it, our lives will tick by, second by second, minute by minute. Our obligations may seem too overwhelming to spend our free time doing anything but flopping onto the couch and watching TV, or doom-scrolling social.

We think that's what everyone else is doing to relax anyway, so we succumb to this invisible peer pressure.

But then, when we allow ourselves to dream, little voices enter our head. "I wish I had time to paint," it might say, or "it would be great to learn guitar one day."

What we don't realize is: we've been holding onto those ideas, those dreams for longer than we care to admit. Anyone who does a regular (or even irregular) journal practice will find that the same dreams we had 2, 5, 10 years ago are the same ones we have today.

If your dreams are creative perhaps you've convinced yourself they're not worth pursuing. Because you think they're frivolous. Unnecessary. Silly. I assure you, they are none of those.

Pick up a copy of "The Artist's Way" (get over your skepticism about the new-agey stuff in there) and give yourself permission to be creative. Really! Do it.

The world needs your voice.

Yeah, but... Life.

Life gets busy though, doesn't it? So, we promise ourselves that when X happens (e.g. the kids are in school, the world is more stable, my finances are better), we will do Y (e.g. run more, eat better, do yoga, get outdoors, etc.)

The thing is: there is never a good time to do anything.

If you're always striving to be in the exact, perfect place in life to start working on your dreams, I'm sorry, but you're always going to be hoping and wishing. And if you're always hoping and wishing and never acting... they will never happen. And that's a damn shame.

Dreams don't come true without work. You can't be a novelist without having written one word. You can't be a painter if you never take out a brush. You can't be a runner if you don't lace up your shoes and get out there.

Do it today.

If it's important, find the time. Because the time will pass anyway.