Stop Waiting for the Stars to Align

by Scott - No Comments

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I find psychology and sociology extremely interesting and relevant as I blaze my trail in the startup world. In particular, I think its really important to understand our behaviors and what drives them. Having a firm understanding why we do certain things allows us to correct our behaviors to reach our goals.

One thing that I find particularly interesting is how many people wait for all the stars to align before they do something. I  see this behavior a lot when people are trying to launch a business, but the general theme spans across a ton of circumstances and needs to change. What compelled me to write this blog post is a recent situation where my friend has been waiting to send an email out to some prospective employers. He wants to make sure the email is flawless, the timing is right, he is prepared to answer questions, you get the picture. All the stars have to be aligned before he presses send. I applaud his consciousness, but all of this preparation has greatly delayed the most important step: sending the email to initiate a conversation.

Lets take a step back and think about why people wait for the stars to align in whatever they are doing. In situations where the stars are aligned, the odds of failure are much lower. We can move forward confidently that we will succeed in whatever we’re doing. Conversely, in times of uncertainty there is a perception that we’re more likely to fail…and let’s be honest, no one likes to fail at anything. So we often wait until the circumstances surrounding an action are more favorable to us succeeding until we make a move.

At the onset, it seems like there is nothing wrong with this type of behavior and in many situations that may be true. However, time and time again I see people miss opportunities due to this behavior and this is a problem. We never take the plunge because we like the safety that certainty offers us. At the end of the day, someone else starts the business you were going to start, the guy who had the balls to go talk to the cute girl at the bar gets her number, the list could go on forever. Bottom line is the people who don’t wait for the stars to align win. I also like to take it a step further and say “the ones with the balls win”.

To change this type of behavior we have to ask ourselves what are we really scared of? What is the worst thing that could happen in every uncertain situation? In most cases, its really not that bad at all and is often better than if we did nothing at all. You need to come to terms with the potential outcomes and break through the wall of uncertainty. Everyday force yourself to get outside your comfort zone and you’ll begin to realize your internal fears are irrational. WE HAVE LITTLE TO LOSE AND EVERYTHING TO GAIN.

I could talk for ever about this, but I’ll save it for another day. Just go out and do something. You’ll be surprised how things shift in your favor.

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