“Say it before you run out of time. Say it before it’s too late. Say what you’re feeling. Waiting is a mistake.” (Haruki Murakami)
Stop waiting for the perfect moment to say those three words.
Stop waiting for the perfect moment to tell your crush you like them.
Stop waiting for the perfect moment to tell your S.O. that you’re pregnant.
Stop waiting for the perfect moment to tell your parents you love them.
Stop waiting for the perfect moment to tell your mom you love her.
Stop waiting for the perfect moment to tell your dad you look up to him.
Stop waiting for the perfect moment to tell your child you are proud of them.
Stop waiting for the perfect moment to do the thing you are waiting to do.
Don’t hold yourself back from saying what you’re feeling because you are afraid of the consequences. Instead of replaying in your head all of the different ways things could go wrong, just go out and do it. You can deal with the consequences later, but you never know what good can happen. You may get negative reactions, or things may not go the way you planned, but at least you can say that you tried. At least you can say you did it. A good friend of mine, Vanessa Mancuso always says to me “You don’t know until you try.” She has been saying this to me for years, but it wasn’t until recently I actually decided to listen to her. She told me to “just message” the girl I had my eye on for weeks previously, and so I finally did. And when I did, to my surprise, everything worked out great. But, I still didn’t “just do things” whenever I felt a certain way. I still kept things to myself because I was too scared of her reaction, and I struggled to say things in person—but it wasn’t worth it.
It’s easier to deal with the consequences of just doing something than it is to deal with the pain of never being able to or not knowing when you will be able to. I never told her any of the things I wanted to, because I wanted to wait and have the conversation in person. I wanted to be able to be there with her, beside her, when I talked to her. I didn’t know the time would come where it was a conversation I couldn’t have. I thought I would have all the time in the world with her by my side, but I was wrong. Because the world can’t promise us a forever. Not today, and not tomorrow. Nobody is guaranteed another day, another month or another year. Anything can happen in the blink of an eye.
Just say it. Just do it, as Nike would say. Let go of the fear, let go of the nerves, let go of it all and just say it. Say the words, ask the question and go from there. Say it before it’s too late, before you’re stuck asking yourself why you didn’t say something sooner. Think about the girl you’ve got a thing for, and while you’re sitting around putting off telling her, someone else does it before you. Now they’re dating and you lost that chance because you waited and he didn’t. Think about your dad going to work one day and someone walking in with a gun, and you didn’t tell him you loved him that day because you were mad he didn’t let you use the car. Think about your mom and how exhausted she is after work; she comes home and does the dishes and cuts her finger open because she’s so tired and all you had to do was do the dishes like she asked. Think about the people around you, and just do it. Just say it. Stop thinking about the “What will happen if I do it?” and focus on the “What will happen if I don’t do it?”
Help your family. Help your friends. Help the elderly. Help the young. Help the rich. Help the poor. Help yourself. Help others.
Be honest. Be humble. Be kind.