If You Cannot Act Now, Prepare

It happens that we have a perfect plan, but the time is not yet ripe. We lack resources, or we have to wait for certain circumstances. But we do not have to sit around idly. We can make preparations.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.”

Abraham Lincoln

When we execute a plan that we have worked on for a long time, we should have everything we need for it. The tools must be handy and ready to use.

Our skills must meet the requirements of the plan, and all information must be available.

We often have plans that we are absolutely convinced of, but circumstances prevent us from implementing them immediately. Obstacles stand in the way, which must first be cleared away.

These obstacles can be within ourselves. For example, if we have not yet learned a specific skill that we need to achieve our goal, we cannot begin.

But obstacles can also come from outside. For example, the corona pandemic has destroyed many plans or made their implementation impossible over a long time.

There are many reasons not to act immediately. We then have the feeling that we are being held back and are frustrated. We then think that the world has conspired against us and that we will never reach our goal.

Standstill as a chance

You cannot open your business because the bank has not yet paid out the loan? You can’t start your fitness program because you broke your foot? The publication of your book has to wait because you can’t pay the cover designer yet?

No matter which of your projects seems to be on hold right now — you can use the forced break to prepare for day X and then start twice as hard.

Many ventures fail because they are too poorly prepared. While it’s true that you shouldn’t hesitate too long if you want to start something new, a quick start is usually not recommended either.

Impatience often tempts us to go into battle with bad plans and too few resources. But when external circumstances force us to postpone the start of a new project, it gives us the chance to prepare better.

The standstill does not have to be a standstill. You may not be able to open your business right now, but you can do many things that will make a start more comfortable in the future. You can use the standstill to look for potential customers and connect with them.

You can recalculate your business model and maybe improve it in some areas.

If an injury stops you from starting your running training, you can strengthen your trunk muscles in the meantime to have a healthier posture when you run later on, which will prevent further injuries.

You can also optimize your training plan and pay close attention to healthy eating while your foot heals.

You may not be able to publish your book yet because the cover is still missing, but you can already search and network with your target audience on forums and Facebook groups.

Read all you can find about book marketing and prepare content for the newsletter subscribers you’ll get through your book.

Standstill always only affects parts of a project. As long as you are not in a coma or dead, you can work on any portion of your project or improve your own skills.

“Chance favors the prepared mind.”

Louis Pasteur

Especially in times of crisis, you can gain a big head start by using the forced waiting time to sharpen your ax.

In a global or national crisis, all your competitors are also doomed to wait for better times. If you are among the few who use this time productively, you will be able to make a better and stronger restart after the crisis than most others.

Learn, plan, observe, and network until you can get back on track.

You cannot change the crisis of the present, but you can create your future today.

René Junge a published author writing on ILLUMINATION.

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