Engineering-minded people love to prepare. We have special tools practices designed specifically to ensure that we have all eventualities covered—test coverage reports, monitoring systems, etc.

But sometimes we must make changes we’re simply “not ready” for—and perhaps never can be ready for.

A team re-organization. Hiring (or firing) a colleague. Switching from manual testing to automated testing. Turning on continuous deployment for the first time.

I’ve seen every one of these be delayed beyond any reasonable timeframe for fear of being “not ready.”

Of course this phenomenon is not limited to the work place. Marriage. Parenthood. A career change. Moving to a new city or country. Choosing a university.

Almost by definition, we cannot be fully “ready” for any of these events, but the wise amoung us rarely let this stop us from making these decisions. We can only become ready after committing.

Next time you’re facing the fear that you’re not ready for something, do some self-reflection, and remember that you’ll simply never be “ready” for some things. Are you ready enough to get started?