"The best way to get something done is to begin."
— Unknown
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said to myself, “I’ll do it later.”
Whether it was starting that project I’ve been dreaming about, finally taking that trip, or learning something new, “later” has always felt like a safe excuse.
It’s comforting, isn’t it?
This idea that we have all the time in the world, that there’s always tomorrow or next week or next year.
But the truth is, later has a way of turning into never if we’re not careful.
The Comfort of "Later"
For the longest time, I used to think that timing was everything.
I believed in the myth of the “perfect time”—that elusive moment when the stars would align, when I would have enough money, enough energy, enough confidence to finally pursue my dreams.
But not right now, I’d tell myself.
Not yet. Maybe later.
It’s easy to believe this lie.
It allows us to push aside our deepest ambitions without feeling like we’re giving up on them.
We tell ourselves we’re not procrastinating—we’re just waiting for the right moment.
But here’s what I’ve learned: there is no perfect time.
There never will be.
The timing is always messy, always inconvenient, and life rarely gives us a clear green light to go after what we want.
I realized this the hard way.
The Dream I Kept Postponing
I’d had the dream of writing a book for as long as I can remember.
Ever since I was a kid, I’d scribble down stories in the margins of notebooks, daydreaming about the day I’d hold a finished novel in my hands.
But every time I thought about actually sitting down and starting, I came up with a new excuse.
I’m too busy with work. I’m not ready yet. What if it’s terrible?
There was always a reason not to begin.
I’d tell myself, I’ll do it later. Next year, when things calm down.
But guess what?
Things never calmed down.
In fact, life only got busier.
And every time I pushed my dream further down the road, the harder it became to pick it up again.
That’s the trap of waiting for later—it lulls you into believing that time is infinite, that you’ll always have tomorrow to start.
But deep down, I knew that wasn’t true.
And still, I waited.
The Wake-Up Call
It wasn’t until a close friend of mine, someone who had always seemed full of life and energy, was diagnosed with a serious illness that I began to reconsider my later mentality.
We were sitting together in my parents living room one afternoon when they looked at me and said, “You never think it’ll happen to you, do you? You think you’ve got all the time in the world.1”
Their words hit me like a ton of bricks.
Here they were, staring at the possibility of not having a later at all.
And there I was, still holding on to my excuses, still waiting for the perfect time that might never come.
That was the wake-up call I needed.
I realized that I had no idea how much time I had left—none of us do.
And suddenly, waiting didn’t feel like a safe option anymore.
It felt like a risk I couldn’t afford to take.
Starting Before I Felt Ready
So, I did the thing that scared me most.
I started writing.
I didn’t wait for the perfect time because I finally understood that it didn’t exist.
I didn’t wait to feel ready because I knew I never would. I just started—messy, imperfect, and scared.
And you know what?
The world didn’t end.
My first draft wasn’t great, but it existed.
I was making progress, however small.
And with every page I wrote, the fear that had been holding me back began to fade.
I realized that waiting for later had only been protecting me from the discomfort of trying and possibly failing.
But I’d rather fail trying than sit on the sidelines, wondering what might have been.
The Joy of "Now"
There is freedom in starting now.
Yes, it’s scary. Yes, it’s uncomfortable.
But there is a certain kind of joy that comes from pursuing something you care about, even when it feels impossible.
There’s a quiet satisfaction in knowing that you’re no longer waiting on the sidelines of your own life.
The more I embraced the now, the more I realized that the obstacles I thought were standing in my way were mostly in my head.
There will always be reasons not to start—fear, uncertainty, lack of time, lack of resources.
But the truth is, there will never be a time when all the stars align and everything is perfect.
If you wait for that moment, you’ll be waiting forever.
The real magic happens when you start anyway—when you take the first step toward your dream, even when you don’t know where it will lead.
Later Is a Myth
Looking back, I’m so glad I didn’t wait for the perfect time.
If I had, I might still be sitting here, telling myself I’ll get around to it someday.
But someday is a dangerous word.
It has no real shape, no form—it’s just a vague placeholder for dreams that are too scary to confront right now.
Lewis Carroll summarizes the point I’m trying to convey, when he remarks in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:
Imperious Prima flashes forth Her edict "to begin it" -- In gentler tone Secunda hopes "There will be nonsense in it!" While Tertia interrupts the tale Not more than once a minute.
Together, these character reflect the balance of decisiveness (Prima), playfulness (Secunda), and interruptions (Tertia) that define our experience of the present moment.
In the end, we only have to regret the chances we don’t take.
So, what dreams are you telling yourself you’ll pursue later?
What if you didn’t wait?
What if you started today, messy and imperfect, and let go of the illusion that there’s a better time down the road?
Could now be the moment you’ve been waiting for all along?
This person was my Opa, who was diagnosed with cancer and eventually succumbed, after a painful and prolonged battle. But, he did enjoy his life; he just always thought he would have more time, but, after my Oma died, I think he just wanted to be with here again.