Ready or Not: How to Take Action When You'll Never Feel Fully Prepared
- Lay Jordan
- 2 days ago
- 13 min read
Ready is such a fascinating word. It signals preparation, willingness to act. Yet for many of us, it's become our favorite excuse to procrastinate, to avoid taking the actions our hearts desire. In episode 61 of A Little Atypical, I explore this paradox: why we wait for readiness that never comes, and what happens when we choose action anyway.
This episode marked my return after weeks of silence, and honestly, it was recorded in the middle of my own cycle of starting over. September was a month of rebranding, or as I prefer to call it, personal evolution (though for algorithmic purposes, we'll stick with rebranding). New aesthetic, new wave of style, attending events to push myself into visibility despite the nerves. I placed myself in different rooms, not because I was actually ready in the sense of having it all together, but because my willingness to make changes in my life was at its peak.
In 2026, my word of the year was "ready." The whole story of how it came to be is in the episode, along with exploring how I broke down my year using solstices and equinoxes instead of traditional quarters, creating my own personal curriculum for self-directed learning, and examining what characteristics actually create wins in our lives. So I highly recommend you listen to the full episode in any of the following links (and also follow and rate the podcast to help reach more of the unconventional thinkers and deep feelers).
Episode No. 61
Where to listen:
When I started my word of the year, most of them came from a place of desiring peace within myself or things that I desired to be instead of where I actually am.
When I started my word of the year practice, most of them came from a place of desiring peace within myself or things that I desired to be instead of where I actually am. In 2020, I chose "Unapologetic" because I wanted to step into boldness I didn't yet possess.
"Progress" in 2021 was about pushing growth despite the pandemic. I was truly working hard to get internship experience, work on my content creation, and maintain high grades in college. "Balance" in 2022 reflected my desire for some kind of stability in chaos. "Consistency" in 2023 was aspirational, a quality I wished I had rather than one I embodied.
Even "Flourishing" in 2024 felt like reaching for an ideal state, what I wished my life to be after graduating college the previous year, breaking up with my boyfriend of years (which was a difficult choice), and no longer having a financially compensating job since November 2023.
The first year I actually felt truly aligned with a word was 2025 because I honored being in the "in-between." I accepted change and understood that everything that year was not set in stone. "Shift" met me where I was, not where I thought I should be. And because I had that understanding, choosing the word "ready" for 2026 felt like solidifying my growth, acknowledging that readiness isn't about having it all together but about willingness to act despite uncertainty.
If I am being honest, I am uncertain. I feel like everything I thought my life would be like has been ripped away from me. People I thought I would stay connected to, I’m not. I thought I was going to marry my ex-boyfriend, but he moved, and as someone who just graduated, I couldn’t bring myself to just follow. I thought I would have a job in the industry I went to school for, but as they say, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. I am uncertain how all of this will play out and uncertain if I will ever get the job I want, find my person, have the friendships I want, travel the places I want to, or how to navigate any of this. Trust me when I say, I’ve never been more terrified or uncertain about life, and yet I still am trying, despite sometimes there is something in the corner of my mind to tell me otherwise. A quote I saw that basically altered my brain chemistry:
Stop waiting to feel ready. Ready is not a feeling, it’s a decision.
Do I know where this originated? Nope. Do I find it a bit cliché? Yep. BUT, I grew up in the 2010s, quotes were essentially what kept me pushing forward as a teen, and even as an adult, I needed to hear this. So I’ve been on my journey to be ready despite it sometimes feeling heavy, and I wanted to share some ideas that helped me within this process.
Five Strategies for Taking Action Before You Feel Ready
1. Treat Uncertainty as an Opportunity: Two Approaches
Instead of seeing uncertainty as a problem to solve before you can move forward, think of it as a creative challenge. Just like artists and designers often produce their best work when given specific limitations (a color palette, a deadline, a budget), uncertainty is simply another boundary to work within. The key is to shift your question from "How do I get rid of this uncertainty?" to "What can I create or explore because I don't have all the answers yet?" This mental shift turns feeling stuck into seeing new possibilities. When you embrace not knowing everything, you give yourself permission to experiment, discover, and learn as you go.
For those with analytical tendencies, this same principle applies through inquiry. Rather than seeking a single "correct" answer, ask questions that open up possibilities: What if this approach worked? What would happen if I tried that instead? How might someone else see this situation? By treating uncertainty as an invitation to investigate rather than a problem to eliminate, you can channel your natural curiosity into forward momentum. The goal isn't to have all the answers before you start. It's to discover them through the act of questioning and exploring.
2. Schedule "Imperfect Action" Sessions
Set aside specific time blocks in your calendar dedicated to taking imperfect action. Label them clearly: "Messy Draft Time," "Uncomfortable Conversations," or "Imperfect Attempts." The simple act of scheduling these sessions eliminates the excuse of waiting for when you "feel ready" or for the "perfect moment" to arrive. During these dedicated time blocks, give yourself one clear permission: to do things badly. Send that email even if the wording feels awkward. Create that rough draft even if it's far from polished. Have that difficult conversation even if you stumble over your words. The point isn't excellence. It's action. By scheduling these sessions regularly, "progress over perfection" stops being just an inspirational phrase you see on social media and becomes a concrete, recurring commitment in your calendar that you actually follow through on.
3. Collect Evidence of Your "Unreadiness Wins"
Create a running list of times you succeeded despite feeling unprepared. That presentation you thought would bomb but went well. The conversation you dreaded that led to a connection. The project you started "too early" that taught you everything. When your brain tells you you're not ready, this evidence becomes your counter-argument. Past unreadiness didn't destroy you. It built you.
4. Build Certainty Through Intentional Action, Wherever You Are
You don't need to go out of your way to expose yourself to discomfort. Growth happens right where you are when you commit to intentional actions. Working out at home because the gym isn't accessible? That's still building your strength. Joining a virtual book club to read more and connect with others? That's still expanding your world. The key is shifting focus from outcomes to behaviors. When you prioritize consistent action over perfect conditions, you build certainty through what you do, not what you have. I started to have the mindset that I can grow wherever I am because the only limitations are what I choose them to be. And to be clear, this isn't coming from a place of entitlement. It's quite the opposite. In late-stage capitalism, we're constantly told we need certain products, certain services, to attend certain events, to have access to specific spaces in order to grow or succeed. But that narrative keeps us waiting, keeps us feeling unprepared, keeps us from starting. Your environment doesn't limit your growth. Your mindset does. The only real limitations are the ones you choose to accept.
5. Redefine "Ready" as "Willing to Learn"
Shift your internal definition: ready doesn't mean "having all the answers." It means "willing to discover the answers through doing." When you're willing to learn, adjust, and iterate, you're already ready. The person who starts with curiosity and flexibility is more prepared than the person waiting for certainty that will never come. Your willingness is your readiness.
These strategies aren't just theoretical. They're practices I've been testing in real time, during one of the most uncertain seasons of my life. And honestly? They've been reinforced by something unexpected: the books I've been reading. Sometimes the best teachers arrive not through deliberate searching, but through simply staying curious and open. Two books in particular landed in my hands at exactly the right moment, offering perspectives that deepened everything I'd been learning about readiness, limitation, and the courage to act anyway.
Rediscovering Reading as a Path to Readiness
One of the best choices I've made was deciding to engage with reading as a hobby again. I never really stopped reading, but my purpose for it shifted. Before college, I read for solutions and emotional understanding: poetry, psychology, anything that helped me make sense of the world. In college, an African American Literature class introduced me to authors I still recommend in book club, and a Fiction writing course in my final semester reminded me why stories matter. Those classes planted seeds, but I credit Ana Huang for pulling me fully back into reading as a hobby instead of solely reading for solutions. (Unpopular opinion: people shouldn't judge what others read. That romance novel might be the gateway to curiosity about other genres. If you want to hear more tips for reading, check out this blog post.)
After my romance phase, I explored mysteries and thrillers. This year, my goal is to read outside my comfort zone and revisit books I haven't touched in years. For February 2026, the book club chose Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. It was between that and Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower series, but after finishing The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov and Elena S. Bulgakova, I was too overstimulated to commit to a series. Parable of the Sower is a 12-hour audiobook, and it naturally leads to Parable of the Talents (another 15 hours). When reading with others, pacing matters. We aim for 2-3 hours per week, mostly using audiobooks for accessibility, though physical books and Libby work too.
Rereading Their Eyes Were Watching God has been revelatory. I read it in high school, but I'm truly understanding it for the first time. What I fixated on then feels so different now. Maybe because I've experienced my first relationship and understand the gap between idealistic love and lived love. Maybe because I'm in my own season of self-discovery.
Simultaneously, I set aside my personal curriculum to revisit Shonda Rhimes's Year of Yes. I read the original in 2021 or 2022 and felt inspired, so when the 10-year anniversary edition dropped in October 2025, I knew I'd return to it eventually. Honestly, 2025 was my worst reading year. I was consumed by Coursera, job searching, and trying desperately to change my circumstances. Hobbies took a backseat. Listening to the audiobook in Shonda's voice hit harder this time, especially hearing how the challenge began: "You never say yes to anything."
Both books arrived at the perfect moment, offering complementary perspectives on the same question: What happens when we stop letting our limitations define us?
What Janie Taught Me About Becoming
Their Eyes Were Watching God showed me through Janie's journey that self-discovery isn't linear or convenient. Watching her navigate expectations from her grandmother, her husbands, her community, I saw my own struggle reflected back. The way she moved through relationships that didn't fit, searching for something she couldn't name, felt painfully familiar. At 24, having left a relationship I thought would be forever, working jobs outside my field, watching my imagined life dissolve, Janie's story reminded me that sometimes you have to live through what doesn't work to discover what does. Her limitations weren't just obstacles; they were catalysts pushing her toward becoming.
Reading it now, after experiencing the gap between idealistic and lived love, I finally understood why she kept searching. She wasn't indecisive or foolish. She was honest about what her soul needed, even when the world told her to settle.
What Shonda Taught Me About Saying Yes
Year of Yes served as the modern mirror. Where Janie's limitations were imposed by her time and circumstances, Shonda's were self-imposed through fear and habit. "You never say yes to anything." That line gutted me because I recognized myself immediately. How many opportunities had I talked myself out of because I didn't feel ready? How many times had I chosen uncertainty's false safety over possibility?
Shonda's memoir wasn't about saying yes to everything. It was about recognizing that our biggest limitations are often the ones we create through resistance. She had achieved incredible success and still found herself paralyzed by fear, still hiding. If someone at her level could struggle with readiness, maybe my own struggle wasn't failure. Maybe it was just being human.
Limitations Imposed and Internalized
What stood out to me the most was realizing these books were in conversation across time and genre. One fictional, one autobiographical. One set in early 20th century Florida, one in 21st century Hollywood. One about a Black woman finding her voice in a world determined to silence it, one about a Black woman who had found success but still needed to find her yes. Both about women confronting imposed and internalized limitations. Both about the terror and necessity of choosing yourself when the world expects something else.
At 24, feeling stuck in ways I couldn't have imagined, these books became permission slips. Janie taught me that the in-between isn't wasted time. It's where transformation happens. Relationships and experiences that don't work out aren't failures; they're education. Self-discovery requires moving through discomfort, not around it. Shonda taught me that waiting to feel ready is just fear in disguise. That saying yes to uncertainty is how you build a life that's actually yours. That even successful people struggle with feeling unprepared, and they succeed anyway.
Reading them simultaneously created beautiful tension: one showing how external limitations shape us, the other how internal limitations trap us. Together, they formed a complete picture. You can't control all the circumstances you're born into or that befall you, but you can control whether those circumstances become permanent boundaries. You can't eliminate uncertainty, but you can decide to act within it anyway. The limitations are real. The fear is real. But neither has to be the final word.
Readiness Through Doing
These books reminded me that readiness isn't about having everything figured out. It's about being willing to figure it out as you go. It's about saying yes even when your voice shakes. It's about continuing to search even when you're not sure what you're searching for. At 24, feeling like everything I planned has unraveled, these books showed me that maybe the unraveling was necessary. Maybe I'm not stuck. Maybe I'm just at the part of the story where everything shifts, and I won't recognize the gift of this moment until I'm on the other side of it.
And maybe that's what readiness actually is: not the absence of uncertainty, but the willingness to move forward within it. Both Janie and Shonda taught me that you don't wait until you're ready; you become ready by doing. Janie didn't know what she was searching for when she left with Joe Starks, or later when she found Tea Cake. She just knew that staying still felt like dying. Shonda didn't feel prepared for any of the yeses she said, but each one built the muscle of courage she needed for the next.
The unraveling at 24 isn't a sign that I'm not ready for what's next. It's the very process that's preparing me. Every moment of discomfort is showing me what I'm capable of surviving. Every time I choose to show up despite the fear, I'm making myself ready through the act of doing.
Ready isn't a destination you arrive at. It's a decision you make, over and over, in the face of everything that tells you to wait.
Episode Description:
Ready for a cozy autumn reset? This special catch-up episode is for YOU - whether you're feeling stuck, seeking new motivation, or simply love the fall season. Discover practical ways to find your rhythm during seasonal transitions, create personalized growth structures that actually work for your life, and align with natural cycles for better balance. I'll share candid stories about my own creative struggles, self-promotion challenges, and how to pivot gracefully when life doesn't go according to plan.
🍂 Key Topics:
Finding your rhythm and motivation during seasonal transitions
Creating personal curriculums and intentional growth structures
Breaking down time differently using solstices and equinoxes
Overcoming limiting beliefs around self-promotion and asking for help
Special moonology card reading: New Moon in Aquarius
🎯 Perfect for anyone feeling the need to realign their goals as we move deeper into fall, seeking fresh motivation, or wanting to approach personal development with more intentionality. Whether you're struggling with your own limiting beliefs or simply looking for a cozy wellness chat to inspire your autumn season, this episode offers thoughtful insights and practical wisdom
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Music by Remil - Evening Tea - https://thmatc.co/?l=DFECB5D4
Section | Timestamp | Notes |
Catching Up on Life & Insights: A Casual Chat | 00:00 |
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Decision: My Word of the Year for 2026 | 03:15 |
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Something Interesting I Saw | 07:44 |
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An Action I Took | 13:50 |
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What I've Been Thinking About: What Creates Wins | 21:06 |
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Wrapping Up: What Can We Learn? | 25:22 |
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