Episode 24 – Truly Being Ready to Get What We Want (The G.R.I.T. Podcast)

Episode Transcript

Hello everybody. I’m Stephen Nathenson, CEO and Founder of Strive for More. I want to talk about readiness. Why I want to talk about readiness is it’s a tricky concept that can play with us just a little bit because I can often think that I’m ready for something, but I’m not truly, actually ready. What does it mean to truly be ready to get what we want? It’s a really good question. Let me ask you, have you ever said, “I’m ready for this to happen in my life,” but months go by and we never find that we actually take action towards it for X months or even years later that we don’t feel like, “You know what? Yeah, let’s go. It’s time to do this. I’m actually truly ready to make this happen.”

There’s a difference between wishing for something to happen and wanting it to happen versus truly being ready to make it happen because when we’re actually ready and truly ready, we’re going to take action towards it. It’s a good example. If we’ve ever seen somebody maybe who’s attractive to us, we want to get to know better, if we’re really interested in doing that, we’re going to actively take action to get to know that person. Or, if let’s say there’s a job or a career that I want and I truly am ready to make that happen for me and pursue that, I’m going to take action to make that happen. Let’s say it’s getting into the FBI.

I’ll share my real example. When I was thinking about getting into the FBI, I knew that that’s what I wanted. That’s what I desired, but I had to wait. I couldn’t just apply. I had to fulfill eligibility requirements for it, so I knew it was off in the future. I didn’t really take any action towards it because, “I still have to wait. I can’t apply now. I’ve got to fulfill that eligibility requirements for it.” But when that date started coming closer and it became more real, I started to truly be ready to actually set myself up for success, knowing that I’ll be able to apply for it.

What did that look like for me? I actually started getting into better shape. I started preparing myself for their process. What was I going to be asked? What were they going to be testing? How could I study for that ahead of time and leverage things right now to prepare me for it? While I knew it was kind of off in the future. I didn’t take action towards it because I really wasn’t ready to start doing it. But when I knew and I realized that, “You know what? This is going to be coming up pretty soon. It’s getting real for me. I’m really, truly ready to now actually start taking action to bring that to fruition and give me the best chance to get into the FBI because I’m actually ready to do it.”

Another example of that in my life is running a marathon. When I did my first half marathon, I had a great time. I really enjoyed it and I thought about getting to that next level. I kept saying I should do it. I kept saying I want to do it, but I was never really, truly ready to take that action until I had a neighbor who had run two marathons. And through our conversations, I said, “If I really want to make this happen in my life, I’ve got to actually start taking action towards it.” So for years, I was saying I was ready to do it, but I truly wasn’t because I did not actually have that drive and that motivation to really take action towards it.

Why this is such a critical part of implement when we talk about grit, give, recognize, implement time is because if we are not truly ready to do something, we’re not going to take action towards it. It just becomes a wish. It just becomes a want and a desire. We’re going to talk about that in an episode coming up, our desires and why that’s important to know what those are. But even if I know what those are, if I’m not actually ready to take action towards it, they’re not going to happen. That’s why this is such a critical part and we lump it in upfront with the component of being committed to what we do. Because when I’m truly ready to take action, I’m actually going to take that action. I’m going to take steps. And then when I’m committed to that, it’s going to keep me to take steps forward, even when I face obstacles or challenges. So again, readiness.

True readiness means that there’s this feeling and this sensation within me that it’s going to drive physical action. That could be exercise as a physical action. It could be going out and buying supplies. It could be literally, “I need to figure out exactly what this looks like. I need to think through this problem or this challenge and kind of crate what this picture actually looks like for me and get it out of my head onto paper, into something visual, into something I can see, I can change, I can shift, I can make sense of.” That’s action too. But when you’re truly ready to do that, you’re going to start taking those kinds of steps versus just thinking about it and wishing that it happens. That’s the critical difference.

So for you, what do you find? Do you find that you’re truly ready to bring about what you want in life? Have you taken actions towards it? Is there one area in life where that definitively rings true? “I was very ready to make this happen and I made it happen, but there’s other areas of my life that maybe I haven’t done it yet.” A prime example of that is, “I need a different job,” and it really is a common example. It’s definitely something I’ve gone through in life as well for years. “I need something different. I need something different,” and I just keep complaining about it.

I keep telling myself that I need to do it, but I’m never truly ready to do that until that switch flips. We go over that tipping point and we say, “This definitively needs to change.” That’s one of the most critical things that can help us understand where we are, if we’re just wishing about something or we just want something versus truly being ready. When we feel like we have gone past that tipping point and then we know this has to happen for us. Where are you on that scale? And that’s maybe a good question when we talk about what you want, what you desire, what you’re wishing for. Where are you on this scale? If you think about it as kind of this critical tipping point, are you still maybe working your way up to it or are you well past it?

Because if you’re well past it, you’re probably taking action to make that change. If you’ve ever switched jobs and left something that you were unhappy, you can revisit that experience to see, “Well, I’ve just been kind of unhappy.” I started to really kind of think through all the options or the complaining about it, of this has got to change, but maybe I didn’t search for new jobs. I didn’t actively look or seek or talk to people about it, but maybe one day that flipped and you actually started sending your resume out. You started scouring jobs on LinkedIn or Glassdoor, Indeed, Monster, wherever you look for jobs. That is taking action. That is being ready to bring about that change.

Now, let’s break that open just a little bit further because maybe I’ve looked at jobs and I’m like, “Yeah. Okay, there’s stuff out there,” but maybe I didn’t apply. So maybe I’ve gone so far and then I wasn’t ready to go even further. I wasn’t ready to actually explore getting another job. There’s variations too in that readiness of maybe I’m only ready to take a certain amount of action and that action doesn’t take me all the way, but maybe now I’ve seen all those jobs out there, something happened at work today and that was it. “I’m done. I am ready to go,” and now I actually start applying and submitting my resumes and going through that process, getting interviews and then ultimately taking that job.

That instance, whatever happened, propelled us to go further on that scale in terms of that tipping point and be ready to take even further action than just, say, looking at jobs online and make what we want truly happen for us because we were actually really ready for it. That is a critical component and I’m curious as you explore what you want in life, where you lie. Are you not ready at all because you’ve not taken any action? Are you a little bit ready because there are some things that you’ve done, but you weren’t ready to go any further than that or have you truly taken all the steps that you can to put yourself in the best possible place to succeed and bring that goal, that desire to fruition?

Readiness is key because we often think we’re ready, but we may not truly be ready because we haven’t actually taken action towards it and that’s the critical part of this is when I’m truly ready, I am constantly taking that consistent action to make sure something happen for me and that will drive you to success. I’ll leave you with that today and I’ll leave you with one last question. What are you ready to bring about in your life, truly ready, and what actions actually show you that, that you’re ready? So until the next time, be the movement in your life.

 

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