I Am Not Waiting Until Everything Is Just Right

We moved into our home July 12th of 2012. I will never forget that day or the events leading up to that very moment.  We never expected our realtor to find us a home in such a short period of time. We had a long list of criteria. When Lisa called from work to inform me of the news, I was shocked. The worry immediately set in. If we looked at the place and liked it, what then?

Our wedding day only 2 weeks away. In New Hampshire. On top of that expense, we would have to fork out a considerable amount of money to move in. At the time, we were still recovering from helping a family member out financially from October of 2011 until May of 2012.

After a tour of the place, we agreed to take it. We signed all of the papers and made arrangements to move in 2 days later.

The day we moved, it was hazy, hot, and humid. I had started a new job with a large company a few months prior. I wasn't eligible for vacation time. Yet. I was working over 100 hours a week. Between loading furniture and boxes onto the U-Haul, I was at my desk. The home office was the last room to be moved.

I published a blog column about our move-in day here. 

During this time frame, things were stressful. Finances. Work. Long hours. Packing. Moving. Unpacking. Putting the final touches on our wedding day. Dealing with the possible landmines of having 2 families and a myriad of friends gathering for our wedding day.

Despite all, we did it.

The biggest lesson we learned from that period in our life is there is no perfect time for something to happen. At times, opportunities present themselves at the most inopportune moments in our life. Or, sometimes you find yourself in a situation where you have to jump first and build your wings on the way down.

I've been struggling with this lately. If you've kept up with this blog, you're aware that in February I wrapped up a series of 6-week projects for a client. I had been working on these 6-week projects for over a year. The projects involved a lot of work and often times took up 3 days out of my Monday through Friday schedule.

This was one of the many reasons why I put a lot of stuff on the back burner during that time. However, now that I'm no longer working on these 6-week projects, I can focus my efforts on the goals and such that sat on the back burner.

Over the past month, I've been doing just that.

I'm finally at the point where I can take things to the next level. This blog. DIY Dog Mom Projects. Social media for Our Bodacious Dog Mom Life. Creating a brand as a pet blogger. Getting affiliated with various companies who rely on pet bloggers to write reviews on their pet-related products. Etc.

It's at this point when the struggles surface. Self-doubt. Fear. The need to have everything just so. Convincing myself that if I wait another month, my traffic will be higher. Wondering if I should create a new template for this blog. Again, Etc...

My goal is April 2nd. 

Earlier today, I drove myself crazy trying to come up with reasons why waiting another month would be better. The fear and self-doubt spiraled out of control. I seriously wanted to unpack in that place and sulk.

By the time Lisa called during her lunch break, I was in tears. After doling out some genuine encouragement, she asked me the single most important question.

"Do you remember when we found our home and moved in?"

Sniffle.

"Yes."

"Do I need to say anything more?"

Sniffle.

"No."

I knew that was her reminder to me. There is no perfect time. Ever.

Had we passed up the opportunity to look at what our realtor found because it was so close to our wedding or finances at the time were tight, we would have missed out. On a lot.

We live in a great neighborhood and have become close friends with a few of our neighbors.

The woman who purchased this 2 family home a couple of years down the road, and her daughter, have become family to us. They're our favorite people.

In addition, it's always been a pet-friendly house. Because of that, our family has grown over the last 6 years.

I'm etching my goal of April 2nd in granite. I have a considerable amount of work to do between now and then.

My numbers won't be quite where I want them to be. I'll probably still be indecisive about a new template. I'll more than likely drive myself nuts again from fear and self-doubt. As the date nears, I'll be running around in circles.

But, I've got this.

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

~Mark Victor Hansen~