Have you ever waited for the perfect moment to do something and then find that you just…kept…waiting?
There are many times in life when waiting for the right moment is the smart thing to do. Wait for the right job, relationship, car, house, vacation deal, or many other things. You had a feeling that you should wait, and you did, and it paid off.
Well sometimes you wait and wait, and it seems like the right timing never happens. Sometimes you need to take that job before they offer it to someone else. Buy that house now because even though it’s not exactly what you were thinking of, it’s got all of the important things and features you will end up valuing.
Stopping tobacco can be like that too. Sometimes it’s good and makes sense to wait until after the fishing trip where everyone will be smoking, or that family vacation that will be stressful. Anything else might be setting yourself up to fail. However, there comes a point when we realize that the perfect “right time” might just not exist. We see that those daily stressors will always be present and there will always be upcoming deadlines and competing events. It is when we arrive at this conclusion that an old Chinese proverb offers sage advice. It simply states, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."
If you can’t find the “best” time to stop, now might just be the right time. We can all only start where we are.
