When You’re Ready to Move Forward - But Still Don’t Trust Yourself
Read time: 4 minutes
Welcome to My Musings
Where I share insights that have impacted me, thoughts on personal growth, and actionable strategies to help you navigate career and life transitions.
Today: When shooting first, and asking questions later, is a good thing.
There’s a moment I keep seeing clients land in lately.
It’s not rock bottom. It’s not liftoff.
It’s somewhere in between.
It often sounds like this:
“I think I’m ready to move again. But what if I stop halfway, like last time?”
“What if it doesn’t work out? I can’t go through that again.”
“How do I know this is the right move?”
This isn’t just fear of failure. It’s the exhaustion that comes after climbing a mountain—only to realize you don’t even want the view.
You’ve lost sight of what’s next.
You’re unsure if the spark is gone.
And, most painfully, you’ve lost trust—not in the world, but in your own ability to choose well and follow through.
The Whisper of Self-Doubt
Philosopher Søren Kierkegaard called this quiet, persistent fear the “sickness unto death.”
Not the drama of despair. The whisper of it.
James Hollis describes it as a turning point: when midlife calls for action not from urgency or “shoulds,” but from alignment.
That’s harder than it sounds.
Because alignment is slow.
And the shift it requires—leaving behind what’s familiar, even if it’s no longer working—is painful.
So we wait for a loud sign. A bolt of clarity.
A cosmic thumbs-up that tells us, “Yes, this is the thing.”
But instead, we get Wednesday afternoon.
And maybe… an idea. A project you want to pick up again.
Not because it’s strategic. But because it won’t leave you alone.
Why That “Right Answer” Might Never Come
We shelve those ideas because we want guarantees.
We want the spreadsheet. The five-year plan.
The clarity that makes risk unnecessary.
But clarity is a reward for movement—not a prerequisite.
As poet David Whyte writes:
“What you can plan is too small for you to live.”
In other words:
If you’re waiting until you’re sure, you’ll never start.
But if you’re waiting until you’re curious? That might be enough.
Permission to Begin—Without Proof
A client said something last week that stuck with me:
“I don’t know if this is the thing. But I want to try. And I want to let that be enough.”
That’s it. That’s the threshold.
Sometimes, you just need permission for the wanting to count.
If you’ve been in a long pause—and you’re not sure how to start again—try this:
Don’t wait until you’re certain.
Wait until you’re curious.
Then start.
Even if it fizzles. Even if you pivot.
That doesn’t make it wrong.
But it does make it real.
PS: If this moment resonates—if you’re in a season of re-entry, quiet reconsideration, or figuring out what’s next—I’d love to hear from you. Or pass this along to someone who needs it.
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