3 Ways to Stop “Getting Ready to Get Ready!”

“On your mark, get ready, get ready, get ready, keep getting ready, get ready some more…”

Wait, that doesn’t sound right, does it?

No, it doesn’t. But that’s how many people approach their lives. They live in a perpetual state of “getting ready to get ready.” They never quite seem to get to a point of saying, “Go!”

This week, I, along with two partners, launched the second round of our Paid Public Speaker Group Coaching Program. If you have any interest in starting or growing a speaking business, you should definitely check it out!

As we prepared for round two, I reflected back on the first group. A lot of people made some great progress with their speaking businesses. However, some made more progress than others.

You know who made the most progress? The people who took action. They picked a market, topic, and title, found groups in that market that might be interested in those topics, and started contacting them. Those people started booking gigs and making money sooner than the rest.

Others spent a lot of time, “getting ready to get ready.” That is, they spent a long time picking the perfect market, topic, and title. They wanted to get their speech outline just right. They wanted to have a great website up before they started. They made much less progress over the course of the program.

I am not trying to be mean to those people; they still made a lot of progress. And all of those elements (a great speech, an awesome website, the right market and topic, etc) are important. However, it can be very easy to keep waiting until all the elements are in place before taking action.

This is a natural reaction, but a very detrimental one. The people who made the most progress didn’t get hung up on getting ready. They did some basic preparation and then took action.

This lesson holds true in any business. The people who take action do better, get farther, and make more progress than the ones who spend a lot of time “preparing.”

Here are three ways you can stop “getting ready to get ready” and just GO!

1) Make Decisions

In my experience, the greatest procrastination happens not when we have a huge task to do, but rather when we have a (seemingly) huge decision to make. Weeks go by and projects come to a stand-still while you try to decide which market, what slogan, which direction, etc.

This problem occurs only when you’re in charge. If you’re working for someone else, they tend to give you deadlines that force you to decide. Or they decide for you.

If it’s your own business, or a decision you need to make in your personal life, it’s a lot easier to put it off. Don’t.

You have enough info. Be your own boss, give yourself a hard deadline, and make that decision you have been avoiding making. It’s the only way to make any progress.

2) Start Imperfect

“Getting ready to get ready” often occurs when you are trying to get all your ducks perfectly lined up before you start. Here’s a secret: perfection never happens. You can’t plan for every contingency, and there will also be one little duck that refuses to line up properly. Let it go…

Chances are, once you begin implementing your plan, things are going to go off course anyway. You will learn more by taking some imperfect action, analyzing the results, and making adjustments than you ever would by trying to get it perfectly right before you start.

Start small, take action, and make adjustments. Scary? Could be. Effective? Absolutely.

3) Smack Yourself in the Head

Ok, you don’t have to smack yourself in the head literally. Though you could if you’d like. And maybe you need to…

One of the hardest aspects of “getting ready to get ready” is that you may not even realize you are doing it!

The excuses seem so valid. There really does seem to be so much prep work. The timing never seems right.

I get it, life sucks. Oh well, move on.

I have met a lot of people who are preparing to do something (start a business, go back to school, etc) and when I ask them about it, they say, “I’m getting my stuff together and will start soon.” Then see them, years later and when I ask how things are going, they say, “I think I am just about ready now. I’m going to do it.”

You read that right. Years – literally, years! – have gone by, and they are still preparing.

This is where you need to smack yourself in the head. “Preparing” becomes so second nature that you don’t even realize what is going on.

The first step is admitting you have a problem. Take a long hard look at yourself and your goals and ask yourself, “am I just wasting a lot of time, getting ready to get ready?”

If so, give yourself a nice smack in the head and get started.

How about you? Is there some area in your life where you are “getting ready to get ready?” If so, smack yourself in the head, make a decision, and be willing to start with imperfect. In the long run, you’ll be happy you did…

About

By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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