'The Perfect Moment'...and why you shouldn't wait for it.

I'm sure we have all been there at some point in our lives where we tell ourselves just to wait for that perfect moment or opportunity to come along before committing to whatever it is that we are about to embark on, and in the end nothing happens.

As many of us probably already know, there is no perfect moment in life, but some of us still do think that somehow they will magically appear and everything will work out just fine. I should know, because I'm one of them.

Take this website, for instance. I signed up for my hosting plan on May 1st, 2024, and as I'm writing this post, it is already June 26th, 2024. I could have published my website after 3 weeks or so, but I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted to have a handful of blog posts for visitors to read. I also wanted to have some of my artwork available for sale as digital downloads.

My website will probably never be in a completely 'finished' state because I aim to regularly add content and updates.

It's an ongoing project, but if I wait and wait for my special, perfect moment in life to come along before I hit the 'go live' button, my website will just be something between myself and my monitor.

Time to take Action

I feel annoyed with myself when I think about the amount of time I've spent waiting for the 'perfect moment' to arrive. I could have been enjoying myself working on other projects or posts for this site instead of just tweaking galleries or rewriting a post that I thought wasn't written well enough for public scrutiny.

The longer I kept putting off the launch of my website, the more negative thoughts were running around in my mind.

Will my website be interesting enough? Will visitors enjoy my posts? What if I can't keep up a regular blog posting schedule? Should I practice making tutorial videos before going live?...and the list goes on.

Waiting for the perfect moment can drive you nuts.

So to this end, I have decided that once this post is finished, I will do one more check to see if everything is looking as it should and that all the links are going to the correct places and publish my website.

However, since you are currently reading this post, you already know this.

The perfect experience, without that perfect moment.

Another of those so-called 'perfect moments' that I've been patiently waiting for is the ideal time and location for me to sketch in public. I really admire, and I'm a great fan of, those artists who go out and about with their books, pens, and paints to capture scenes in busy towns and cities, but I have never had the courage to do so myself until a few days ago, that is.

Every Sunday morning during the nice seasons, there is a different band who plays for an hour on stage in a park about 20 minutes drive from our home.

It's totally free and has a really relaxed atmosphere. The first time my wife and I visited, I didn't know what to expect, but I was so pleasantly surprised that I said I would take my drawing kit the next time and sketch while listening to the music.

I was a bit apprehensive when I first got my sketch pad and pen out, but once I put pen to paper, I was oblivious to everyone around me.

I had finally turned the waiting for a 'perfect moment' into a 'perfect experience'. As the show and my sketch came to an end, the whole experience was rounded off nicely by a woman who leaned over my shoulder, looked at my drawing, and said, 'Bravo!'

I know I'm no hardened urban sketcher after that one day out, but I now know that I don't need to wait for that perfect moment anymore.

Playing in the park that morning was Ol' Potatoes

My sketch from that morning.

I only managed to sketch the scene in the time that the band played and I added the paint when I got back home.

Click any image below to open and scroll through the gallery of close-ups

To wrap up this post, I'd just like to throw a few pointers out there that may help you avoid wasting your valuable time, like I did, while waiting for that elusive 'perfect moment'.

• Take Action: Although things may seem difficult or daunting at first, you just have to make a start. Once you get going, you will see that things aren't as bad as you thought they would be.

• One Step at a Time: Once you've taken action, break down the workload and tasks in hand into small, manageable bite-size pieces. Don't overwhelm yourself or overthink things too much.

• Keep at it: If things don't work out as planned, don't give up right away. I know I nearly did. Some challenges can be very off-putting and leave you feeling downhearted, but there is no better feeling than conquering those challenges to reach your goals.

Conclusion.

...are you still waiting for a 'perfect moment'? If so, let me know by filling out the form below and let's see if we can put an end to that.

Question of the day....

Your feedback is important

Thank you very much for visiting my blog, and I hope you enjoyed my post.

To enable me create more content of interest and quality in the future, please consider filling out the feedback form below.