Guest Post: Ashley from Your Super Awesome Life
Taking a brief weekend break from Scintilla to bring you the amazing Ashley! When Ashley put out a call for blogs to host her, I jumped at the opportunity. A fellow Season 5 Stratejoy blogger, she’s one of my favorite people online and it’s been a treasure to watch her develop her own business and move to Canada.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of “the perfect time” to follow our dreams. It’s a thought that comes up a lot when you’ve just quit your job, moved to Canada, and dove head first into running your own business. You worry if you’ve made a mistake. You worry if you should have waited a few more months and saved up a little more money. You worry that this will never work out and you’ll look like a fool for even trying in the first place.
Here’s the truth.
I never felt completely ready. In fact, I felt completely terrified, overwhelmed, and stressed out. I was worried that everything would blow up in my face and I’d be left to pick up the pieces. I had a million excuses lined up to give me a way out.
“I can’t quit my job, I don’t have a big enough nest egg saved.” “I can’t move to Canada right now, there might be a blizzard and we all know I can’t handle the snow.” “I can’t start that new business project, I don’t feel ready yet.” “I can’t make an income by typing away on my laptop, no one will pay me for that!”
But if I kept waiting for the right time, I wouldn’t be here now. I would have spent my entire life waiting because the perfect time is a myth. It’s never going to come. I’m never going to feel completely ready and I’m never going to have enough money, courage, or backup plans.
We keep waiting for the “perfect” time to make our big ideas happen, but really, this is just a way for us to let fear take control. If we tell ourselves that it’s not the perfect time, then we have an excuse, a scapegoat, and then we don’t have to do whatever we’re afraid to do.
There will always be a reason to not do what you want to do. Not enough time. Not enough money. Not enough support. Not enough resources. There will always be an excuse, a reason to stay inside your comfort zone, and not go after your big goal.
But who wants to live a life driven by excuses?
Was this the best time to quit my job and move to a new country? Probably not.
I only have enough money saved to get me through the next few months, I don’t know how much I’ll be making through Your Super Awesome Life, and I don’t have a detailed plan for what happens next.
But I decided to do it anyway. I took the leap and made it happen. I booked the plane ticket, turned in my resignation, and packed my bags.
Some days I still get scared. I wonder if this was the most responsible decision (probably not) and if I should have waited for a more “perfect” time. But then I remember how incredible it feels to know that I took a risk, to know that I created this life for myself. And I’m so glad I didn’t wait.
Ashley Wilhite is a Life Coach who helps courageous women break free from expectations, create radical change, and begin living a bigger, bolder, more radiant, super awesome life. Whether you want to move across the country, backpack through Thailand, become a yoga instructor, write a book, or quit your soul-sucking job, Ashley will help you change your life, one daring adventure at a time! You can find Ashley at Your Super Awesome Life.
Life By Kristen 