How about now?

I meet so many people in life that just seem to be waiting. Waiting for what? My guess is that they’re waiting to die. That way they don’t need to put in any effort to achieve their dreams and goals.

Ok, I’m not being totally serious, although I do have a very serious point. The people I talk about aren’t actually waiting to die. But you know what? That will be the end result anyway.

This applies to many things in life. Talk to older people and you’ll often find a life full of regrets.

Earlier today I was listening to the excellent track by Martin Garrix & MOTi called Virus (How About Now). The lyrics sum up perfectly what I want to say in this article.

When every hour could be the last
Why would we wait? Why would we wait?
And every road could be unsafe
But we’ll be OK, we’ll make it, we’ll make it

After another verse, it ends with…

How about now?

I don’t know what this song is about, but the lyrics resonated with me the first time I heard them.

We never know when our time will be up, so every hour could indeed be our last. So why would we wait? Why do we wait? Why do we put off so many things that we could do right now?

One reason that people delay is that they’re unsure of the outcome of their dreams and goals. Sure, they’d like to start a business, but what it fails? What if their friends and family make fun of them? What if they end up looking stupid? It’s easier to put it off until another day.

But as the song says, every road could be unsafe. But have some faith because it will be ok, you’ll make it. What you have are most likely irrational fears.

Another reason I see people put things off is that they’re waiting for the perfect time. Guess what? The perfect time rarely comes.

I have a friend in the UK that has been talking about moving to France for over 10 years. It has been her major dream since she was a child. At first, she needed to wait until she retired. Fair enough you might think, but she already had enough money. She didn’t need to work.

Retirement eventually arrived, but then her son went to university (she had him late in life and retired a little early). She decided she needed to stick around to support him even though his university was hundreds of miles away. Once he graduated she would finally move to France.

But then her son met a woman that he planned to marry in a couple of years. I’m sure you can already guess what happened. Yes, that’s correct. She decided to stay until after the wedding.

Then her daughter-in-law got pregnant. Better stay for the birth. Better stay a few years to watch her grandson grow up.

I know she’ll never move to France. She must also know in her heart, but she’s still planning like it’s going to happen.

To be clear, if she’s changed her mind and prefers to stay in the UK with her new family that’s fine. But she hasn’t. She still dreams of France. I know it will never happen, especially since Brexit has now made it even more difficult for Brits to move there.

And then there are the couples I know that have never traveled much but planned to do so once the kids left how, once they saved enough, once they retired, or whatever other excuse they had. I’ve seen many of these fall into ill health and even die. Their travel dreams are over.

Then there are the procrastinators. Oh, I’ll start that side hustle next month. I don’t have time right now. But next month is too vague a timeframe. Next month turns to next year. Next year turns to never. I know life can get in the way of our plans, which is why we need to prioritize them.

Whatever you’re planning to do, whatever your dreams and goals are, do them now. Don’t sit and wait until it’s too late. Don’t be like those that let their dreams die. You only have one life. Go out there and live it to the fullest.

When every hour could be your last, why would you wait?

If you want to listen to the great tune mentioned above, here it is.

What have you been putting off? Will you finally get around to doing it?