The Illusion of Readiness

I used to believe there was a perfect moment to begin. A moment when I would feel fully prepared, completely confident, and ready to step into something new. I waited for that moment before making big decisions. Before raising my hand for opportunities. Before stepping into rooms that scared me.

But life doesn’t wait for you to feel ready. It just moves. And if you don’t move with it, you get left behind.

The stages of life by caspar david friedrich

As part of my second-year program, I had to find an apprenticeship, and that’s when I came across the company, Scarters. Months before, I had watched its founder, Darshan Shah, speak at Let’s Enterprise, and something about his journey struck a chord. He had built something from scratch, taken risks, and made things happen—exactly the kind of learning I wanted. So when the time came, I didn’t just apply at Scarters; I chased it. I followed up relentlessly until, just four days before my college deadline, I landed the interview. Two days later, I secured my spot.

When I joined Scarters, I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready to work in a new industry. I wasn’t ready to handle tasks I had no prior experience in. I wasn’t ready to be in an environment where expectations were real, and mistakes had consequences. But there was no time to wait. No time to hesitate. So I stepped in, unsure and unprepared, but willing to figure things out.

And here’s what I learned—no one is ever truly ready. Not for a job. Not for responsibility. Not for the life-changing moments that define us. Readiness is an illusion we create to protect ourselves from discomfort. We convince ourselves that if we wait a little longer, learn a little more, gain a little more confidence, then we’ll be able to handle it. But that moment never comes.

You only become ready by doing.

Howard Schultz had no background in coffee culture when he decided to build Starbucks into a global brand. He traveled to Italy, walked into small espresso bars, and watched how they created an experience around coffee. He didn’t have it all figured out. He wasn’t trained in the business of coffee. But he took what he learned, trusted his vision, and took a leap into the unknown. If he had waited to be “ready,” Starbucks might never have existed.

In the first few weeks, I stumbled. I asked questions that felt stupid. I made mistakes that made me cringe. I felt like an outsider, watching people who already knew what they were doing. There were moments I wanted to shrink back, to wait until I felt more capable, more worthy of the space I had stepped into.

But I stayed. I worked through the uncertainty. I let my actions build the confidence my mind was waiting for. And slowly, I started to see it. The shift. The moment when I was no longer just trying to keep up but actually contributing. The moment when I was trusted with bigger tasks. The moment I caught myself speaking up without overthinking.

During my apprenticeship, I was asked to present my work—nothing unusual, or so I thought. But then, the entire office was called in. Just for an intern’s presentation. My heart raced. I wasn’t “ready”. But I walked up, took a deep breath, and did what felt right. Instead of a dull, standard presentation, I took a risk—I made it interactive, added activities, and broke every unspoken rule of a typical office meeting. The result? They loved it. That one moment of courage led to even bigger opportunities and a level of trust I never expected.

That moment didn’t come because I was finally ready. It came because I had already been doing the work.

Looking back, I wonder how many things we miss out on because we tell ourselves we’re not ready. How many doors we don’t knock on. How many chances we let slip by. How many times we underestimate our ability to figure things out.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this—no one starts out knowing exactly what they’re doing. Everyone is winging it at some level. The people who seem the most capable, the most put-together, the most confident, were once just as uncertain. The only difference is, they started before they felt ready.

So maybe the trick isn’t waiting for readiness. Maybe the trick is showing up anyway.

Because the moment you stop waiting and start moving, you realize you were never supposed to be ready. You were just supposed to begin.

– Zainab Ezzi