You begin to examine yourself. You check yourself out.  You  look to see if you look any older, any tanner, or any different since yesterday when you also checked yourself out in the mirror.

You start talking to yourself, just soft enough for you to hear, “where the hell did that mark come from?” Or for some of us, “damn I should probably shave down there.” You make some weird faces at yourself, say some of your favorite action movie quotes, see how white your teeth look, throw a couple of karate chops, and try to see how your butt looks…

Okay maybe I’m weirder than I thought…

Then, you start to think deep. You start to think about that amazing thing that you were passionate about. That thing you really wanted to do one day. That person that you told yourself you always would be. That vacation you said you would take. You imagine the future you who did it.

“What ever happened to that?” You say to yourself, as the person in the mirror stares right back at you, waiting for the answer to that question. Then come the excuses. All the reasons why you haven’t done it yet. All the reasons why you quit. All the reasons why you haven’t even started. The people who doubted you, and made you feel embarrassed to talk about it. Your own self doubt, that made you feel like you weren’t good enough, and that only a few lucky people can accomplish those things.

You sigh to yourself , “I’m just not ready yet… I’m just not good enough.”

You are not alone. I used to feel like this every single day. The hard truth: I still sometimes do feel this way. But I’m going to tell you what I’ve told myself, over and over again…

“You’re never going to feel ready! There is never going to be a perfect time! There will probably never be even a decent time! All there is, is right now! Don’t waste it! Do what you’ve been telling yourself you would! Stop worrying about what other people are thinking! Stop living your life based on the judgment of others!”

Stop, Inhale, Exhale, Smile. Do it!

Peace!