Stop waiting. Stop waiting for someone else to make the first move, for the puzzle pieces to perfectly fit, for the job to fall into your lap, for the opportunity to be handed to you. Stop waiting for the answers to be revealed, for the stars to align, for the person you’re looking for to suddenly appear in your life and make sense of every question in your head.

Just stop.

Stop thinking you have to be a certain person, have a certain percent of knowledge or skill, know a certain amount before you actually get started. Stop thinking you have to be somewhere, or someone other than who and where you are to be whole, to start over, to begin.

Life is too short to wait, especially when it comes to the things and people you love.

So don’t. Don’t wait.

If you wait to be ready, if you wait until everything’s all figured out, if you wait until you’re a complete and perfect person, you’ll be waiting forever.

Because there’s never going to be a time when everything in your life makes sense, where there’s no worry or doubt, when you’re totally prepared and comfortable and confident. Hard as you try, you’re still going to have a bit of hesitation. You’re still going to wonder ‘what if.’ You’re still going to have pieces of your life that will be messy.

And that’s perfectly normal.

You don’t have to be ‘ready’ to actually step forward, to try something new, to take that job, date that person, explore that path. You’re not going to have a moment where your heart is completely full or your mind is totally blank and serene. You’re never going to feel fully prepared, even if you spend all your days getting ready to move.

You just have to move.

Listen, change is overwhelming. Starting over is daunting. Beginning something new is strange and weird and being out of your comfort zone is scary. You’re going to want to push back at every opportunity. You’re going to want to resist. That’s natural.

But stop thinking that you have to be this perfect, whole, calm, put-together, prepared, in-control person just to start whatever it is you want to start.

You don’t need to have all the little parts of your life organized. You don’t need to have all the items crossed off your list before you begin. Hell, you don’t even really have to know what you’re doing to switch your path.

It’s okay if you’re a mess, if you’re still ‘figuring it out,’ if your lost or trying to find your way—life isn’t about having it all together, but about moving forward—day by day, step by step.

So step.