Why wait?
Last weekend, I was asked to write a letter to my younger self, and the introduction went like this:
“Hi, Murewa; I know you’ve always had a reputation for plunging head-first into things, thinking you counted the cost only to realise that you’d bitten more than you could chew.”
I didn’t realise how apt that intro was at first, but for the past week, I have been forced to reflect on different things I have plunged headfirst into, and I wonder if I ever really counted the cost or if the imagined cost versus the actual cost were so much at variance that I didn't realise before diving head first into the unknown.
Upon reflection, I realised that I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The results of plunging head-first into the unknown are usually excitement, followed by eagerness, then the unexpected comes in, and I am shoved into different tight spots that cause me to practice active problem-solving and critical thinking skills on the go.
I have learnt that my penchant for blazing into unsavoury situations has taught me to handle uncomfortable situations and become comfortable in discomfort. Beyond this, it has forced me to grow. This irrational habit has caused me to stretch, to go beyond myself and beyond my capacity. My introspections have made me realise that if I had not plunged headfirst into those situations, I may never have left my comfort zone.
I am a very “Go Big or Go Home” kind of person, and I realise that I have two major tendencies: either talk myself out of big situations or dive in wholesale with no safety equipment with a we-go-run-am mindset. One of my mentors identified the former as self-sabotage and the latter as restless eagerness.
Regardless of the semantics, I realised that even though I bite off more than what I am comfortable chewing during moments of restless eagerness, I am usually happier at my results and more excited at my prospects by the time I get to the end of whatever exercise my restless eagerness forced me to undertake.
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So my question to myself — and to you, if you please — is this: why wait?
You never know the real cost of a decision until you invest all fingers and toes in it, so why wait to count the cost?
Now, I’m not asking you to be irrational in your decision-making, far from it. But my argument is this: if when you weigh the pros against the cons, you realise that despite the cons, you really want to see the end of a matter, why wait?
Why talk yourself out of it?
Why hold back on… whatever?
Why wait?
It is a new month and a new quarter, I hope you have the courage to put off waiting and actively change your life. I’m rooting for you, as always!
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PSA: I started a newsletter on substack this January where I write for students and early career professionals looking to level up and gain mastery in their fields. I share principles, anecdotes and mental models for excelling and thriving in today’s world, you can subscribe using this link: https://mureewaa.substack.com/
