Don’t wait until you are ready to take action, Instead, take action to be ready.
Jensen Siaw
In this post, I won’t be talking about science per se. I’m not even sure I know where I’m going. What I know is that I’ve been struck by a realisation this week: you are not ready unless you get ready. I know, it might sound a bit weird or completely obvious, but hear me out…
See, during a discussion I was told to “keep working and we will see then if you are ready” … It could be an absolutely innocent sentence, but in the context, it troubled me. We were talking about a deadline I mentioned, for which a lot remain to be done and that we shouldn’t have time constraints and be more flexible, see how things were going and decide then.
Thing is, this is a deadline for my PhD. Not one of the self-imposed deadlines I use to make progress, but an institution deadline. I’m talking about a cannot-be-moved-pass-or-fail-life-or-death sort of deadline. And when you have one of those deadlines, you do not hope you will be ready in time. You do absolutely everything you can and no matter what, you have to be ready. And it got me thinking about the difference in language between “being ready” and “getting ready”. What does it mean exactly to “be ready”?
When you ask someone “are you ready”, are we really asking if the state of affairs is as such that they are prepared for what’s coming (just like that, you are ready); or are we talking about a state of mind, i.e. did they do everything they could think of to prepare themselves? Trivial example: when you get up in the morning, you do not happen to be ready; you have to get ready to be ready to get on with your day. You had to accomplish a series of tasks (doesn’t have to be in a very orderly manner and you could be absolutely rushing) to ensure you were in the position to start your day.
And it’s the same thing for everything in life, isn’t it?
You need to get ready to be ready.
Very simple affirmation that led me to another thought: we are presented with opportunities (big or small) every day but unless we are in the right state of mind (i.e. unless we are prepared?) to seize them, we will let them pass, one after the other.
Every day, we could have the chance to take a minute and check in with ourselves for example. It might be on the way to work, while waiting for the kettle, sitting down on your sofa after work, or just before bed. Do we take the time to do it, though? Not necessarily. There is always something else to keep our mind busy and ruminating (listen to music – my favourite -, thinking about all the things you have-to-do-and-will-never-have-to-do-in-a-day, what to cook for dinner…).
How about this DIY project you’ve been planning for months or this book you’ve been wanting to read forever? Still didn’t get around to do it? The “call of the sofa” is too strong when you’re home maybe? Or maybe you’re too tired from your week and cannot be asked to do anything? Believe me, I know those ones. You sat down, switch the TV on, find a new series to watch and before you know it, the entire afternoon is gone. In the evenings or during the weekend, you feel the need to recharge and don’t feel like you have the energy to do anything a little bit creative or cognitively demanding.
But here’s another thing I’ve realised: the more you do things that bring you satisfaction, the more energy you have to do them. You got ready to give yourself time and you became ready to do things.
I realise that I might sound like a fortune cookie, very obvious and not making much sense, but think about it. How often do you ask yourself “will I be ready” or “will I have time”? I have quite a few of those pending tasks that I’ll do “when I have the time” … well guess what, it seems I’ll never have the time unless I take it. And I finally came around to take the time to do very simple things before starting to watch series when I’m home. It’s not much, it doesn’t change the world and it’s definitely nor ground breaking, but there are things I enjoy doing. A bit of cleaning (okay, don’t enjoy that one so much, but love the feeling of accomplishment afterwards), a bit of colouring, a bit of crochet, a bit of reading.
I’m definitely not up to date with the latest series, but I’ve read 2 books in a month and I am half way through my crochet creature. I still procrastinate A LOT (especially when it comes to clearing my wardrobe…), don’t get me wrong. I did not sort my life out and I definitely don’t have everything figured out, but I am giving myself more chances by getting things done. Doing more small satisfying things, I feel a little bit more rested, a little bit more accomplished. One small step at a time, I am a little bit more ready to face what’s coming my way.
Work wise, I try to be S.M.A.R.T. about what I have to do: I think about my target and I have a Specific goal that can be Measured; I define a list of smaller tasks or objectives that are Achievable or Accessible and contribute to the bigger goal; each task as to be Realistic based on my abilities (I will not set as a task to reproduce a Rembrandt…); and finally I will set a Time limit to both the big target and the intermediate tasks. I found doing this has several benefits: it forces you to break down your goal into smaller tasks and helps me look at the big picture. It structures the workload and divides it: what once was a giant mountain is now a succession of steps to climb. It’s still pretty hard, but at least you realise you are moving upwards. And it does apply to work only: it is transferable to anything you want to accomplish, read, or create!
Being ready is definitely not a fact, it is something you work towards, it is a goal you are reaching towards a little bit more everyday by taking action and giving time to your passions. It is about working hard but also about taking the time to do things you want. It is about seizing opportunities. So, are you ready?
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