Don’t wait until it’s all perfect to follow your dream

I got me thinking, because if I had waited, until I could afford to buy exactly the sort of place I really wanted in Montenegro, I would still be waiting until this day. In fact, if I waited to have exactly what I wanted for anything in life, I would never have or do anything! (And I am a perfectionist, so it is not that I don’t have high aspirations!)

Don’t wait until perfect (it’ll never happen)

But looking back I realised that I didn’t approach my dream of a place in Montenegro like that at all. I decided I wanted to buy a property in Montenegro. Then I worked with what I had. I had the idea. I let it ruminate. I researched it. Alot. But I worked out a plan and took action in the end.

I am living proof that you can move forward with a plan and a dream even if you aren’t the richest person around. Even if you do not have the most ideal conditions in life.

Unlike this acquaintance, I’ve never had a consistent and regular income. I’d never even earned a particularly high salary. I’d had some stops and starts in fact, as I’d changed direction from jewellery business to freelance work in planning – with the accompanying knocks to my income.

But I didn’t wait until it was all perfect to buy a property abroad.

I looked at what I wanted, then I looked at what I had to work with. And then I worked out a way forward. I used the resources in my hands.

And I bought my little apartment in Montenegro.

I looked at what I wanted, then I looked at what I had to work with.

Don’t wait until perfect circumstances fall into place to follow your dreams

​I could have waited until I could afford something “better”. That villa on the coast with far reaching views of the sea. Where I could put up all my extended family with ensuite bathrooms and car parking space. I would have been waiting a long time though.

But what I did get was an apartment with a romance about it. With its beautiful Venetian architecture. With its shuttered windows overlooking a square, where you can hear the town wake up slowly in the mornings. Where you can wander out for a cappuccino and a croissant and watch the world go by for hours.

But the most important thing I’ve discovered through it all in the end is this.

It is actually the reaching out for something that we want, in whatever way we can, that changes us the most. It brings something into our life through the experience of moving forward – both external and internal. It makes us feel more alive and more in touch with ourselves.

Aiming for excellence is good and something that I prize and value. But waiting until perfect presents itself, is not good on any count. In relationships, dreams, lifestyle. How we want to live our lives and the things we long to do and be. Whatever it may be.

Because perfection doesn’t exist.

And we miss the true gain by waiting for it.

​Is fear holding you back?

Let me clarify, I’m not talking about a compromise to our values or priorities. We do need discernment and honesty with ourselves here to know the difference.

I’m talking about waiting, when it is really fear holding us back. Fear that stops us from something that could lead to a wonderful new chapter in our lives. Yes, it brings some uncertainties and risk, but what doesn’t in life, eh? But fear stops us reaching for something that could bring in something new and fresh for us.

So, whether it is buying a property abroad. Starting a new venture. Embarking on something new. Whatever it may be, the take-away I have for you here is – don’t wait until it’s all perfect. Because that time will never come. Weigh up your idea. Research it. Give it time and space to ruminate. But don’t wait until it’s all perfect. Look at what is in your hands to use. Then work out a plan. And take action. One step forward at a time.

For we only get this one, wild life.

Don’t let the need for perfect stand in the way of living yours.