Perfect Plan, Perfect Pause

"You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

In our rational age, it’s common for thinkers to imagine every possibility unto their ‘perfect plan.‘ They envision what they want to accomplish or become, but it stays as a vision. They don’t believe they have enough of the full picture to act on their desire.

Because of this, their enthusiasm can dwindle, years can pass, and nothing will come about. Another possibility is that they spend so much time planning that they would have accomplished their goal quicker had they just started it earlier.

Oftentimes there is a paradox at play here. When the top of the mountain is unseen, one can only see it by taking the first step. This requires risk, faith, and adventure, but for many of us, we were not given these opportunities to explore freely, and now that we are older, we paralyze ourselves at great opportunities.

What if I fail?

What if I run out of money for that project?

What if I end up not enjoying it?

How will I _____?

Et cetera.

These are valid concerns, and as a thinker, I often have each of these go through my mind when considering something. However, there is one aspect that I always fail to consider, and it is this:

Learning by doing holds a worth beyond comprehension, its value grows exponentially.

We consider all the variables except one of the most impactful – and that is experience. It is the least considered variable, maybe because it is the hardest to calculate. By dong, one gathers experience rapidly – especially by failing. They will then learn more concretely in order to not duplicate those failures and start to build progress quickly. Therefore, to learn quickly, one should jump in.

I’m not saying that one should just jump into projects blindly; the builder who doesn’t consider the cost is foolish; however, I believe that inspiration is gets us across that threshold of beginning. All that yearning within wants to be put out when we are excited to something will die of if we keep waiting, but we can foster it if we give it some experience to build off of.

My Experience

I experienced this with my home garden. I always wanted to garden and my previous apartment complex made it impossible because I did not face the sun. However, when we finally got a home, I was busy with renovations that were more important (time and money). Spring rolled around, and I felt the urge to start this garden, but I had no time to really dwell on the possibilities of it.

But I jumped in.

I borrowed a tiller from my neighbor and tilled the land and did my best to garden that year with the limited resources and time that I had; I made so many mistakes, but, this year, I feel ahead of the game, and I’m thankful for that quick start last spring. Here is a list of mistakes or problems that occurred last year:

I made the garden to big to upkeep

50% of my plants did work well for a variety of reasons

I didn’t have enough money for raised beds, so I raked dirt into mounds instead and tried that

I spent too much money on seeds

I direct sowed many seeds that did not germinate

Starting plants inside was not successful half the time

I didn’t start enough plants

…

The list goes on and on. All that to say, those failures make me way ahead of the game this year because I can adjust accordingly. Had I waited for the perfect time to start the garden, I would not be ahead as I am now. Yes – it costed time and money, but even a little time and money went a long way.

Therefore, if you have something you have always wanted to do, maybe the perfect time will not come, but maybe the perfect time can be now, and as you sculpt your project it can reveal its full potential to you.

Godspeed.

Nicholas Harper