The myth of perfect timing

There is no such thing as “the right time.”


It’s a myth-- a fairytale we cling to even when logic would tell us to let it fall to dust.

Maybe it’s because if it were true-- if there were a perfect time to take life’s bigger chances-- we could be ensured a happy ending. And that would just be… well… that would be wonderful. Risk without risk. But as we hold out for the time that feels right enough to guarantee a “Happily Ever After”, we miss out on just plain ol’ “happy.”

Movies and folk wisdom would have us believe that there will be a perfect moment to go after that which we most desperately want. We’re told there will be a “right time” to reveal a crush, chance a kiss, make a change, pop the question, have a baby, buy a house, start a business, chase a dream… but like I said before, there is no such thing as “the right time.”

Life is a series of moments, some better than others. And the best and worst part of it all is you never know when you’re going to run out of those moments. Don’t let fear of taking that leap of faith allow you to bypass the opportunity to make something great.

Andy and I were married for about four years before we decided to try and have a baby. It had been a source of discord in our marriage because I felt ready for kids years before he did. But eventually things all came together. We were building a house, we both had good jobs, I was done with school… it was the perfect time.

Except when I was two months pregnant Andy lost his job, my job cut my hours, we (briefly) lost health insurance, construction on our house was months behind schedule and we were left living with my in-laws for an indefinite amount of time. See, even the perfect moment is just that-- a moment. And moments are fickle lil’ things, and they can go from “perfect” to “decidedly crappy” in a heartbeat.

We had suddenly found ourselves in about as un-ideal of a situation in which to have a baby as a married couple can be. And yet somehow, even in that most non-perfect moment, things turned out as well as we could have ever hoped. Just as perfect timing doesn’t guarantee everything will work out, bad timing doesn’t mean that it won’t.

The thing is, there’s never enough money. There’s never enough security. Things are never just as you’d want them and even if they are, they might still fall apart. There is no “right time.”

But there is this time. This moment. Right now.

Take this as your sign, if you were waiting for one. Take that chance, make that leap of faith, and pursue that dream, whatever it might be. Kiss the girl, make the call, take the job, buy the house, seize the moment.

Because it might not be perfect, but it’s yours. Don’t let it pass you by.