Readiness is a lie we tell ourselves.

You're never going to feel ready. The conditions will never be perfect. Your knowledge will never be complete.

And yet, the people who move forward are the ones who start before they're ready.

Why does this matter?

When you wait for readiness, you're actually waiting for permission. Permission from yourself, from others, from circumstances. But permission never comes—it's granted, and you're the only one who can grant it.

The soft skill here is learning to tolerate the discomfort of not knowing. Of being a beginner. Of being wrong.

Every expert started as a beginner who was terrified and did it anyway.

How to practice this:

• Notice when you're waiting for readiness
• Ask: What's the smallest version of this I could do today?
• Do that version, even if it's imperfect
• Adjust based on what you learn

This is in 'Working While Female' because of the disproportionate number of women affected by Imposter Syndrome.