We’ve become conditioned to think that we need to be ready before we can start something new.
Much of this conditioning comes from our schooling system. We’re not ready for kindergarten until we’re a certain age. We’re not ready for first grade until we’ve successfully completed kindergarten.
Who tells us we’re ready?
Well, other people.
Our teachers and our parents.
People who have more experience than us, and hence are trusted to make fair evaluations of our abilities.
But what if they’re wrong?
What if the criteria by which they’re judging our readiness is flawed?
In fourth grade, my family moved to a new state. When I started my new school my new teacher told me that I needed to be in an ESL class (English as a Second Language).
English might have been my second language when I was two and lived in India, but since moving to the US, English became my primary language. In fact, English was the ONLY language I knew how to read, write, and speak in, which I had been doing since kindergarten!
My teacher didn’t believe I was capable.
My parents weren’t sure because they weren’t familiar with the US schooling system. So they relied on my teacher’s evaluation of me and thought maybe I wasn’t as capable as they had thought.
All the adults doubted my abilities, but I knew that I was capable.
I knew because I had been writing short stories since I was six.
I knew because I had been the spelling bee champion at my last school three years in a row.
I knew but sadly I was nine. And all the reasons my nine-year-old brain could muster wouldn’t hold up against the fact that I was less experienced than they were, and as a result afforded less authority.
So I attended the ESL classes.
It wasn’t until I made all the other students look bad by answering every question correctly that my teacher let me leave ESL, and recommended that I be tested for the gifted and talented program.
Don’t let other people’s evaluations hold you back.
And don’t wait for others to pass judgment on your ability to move forward.
It’s not about being ready. It’s about being able.
Able to try, to think, and to grow.
And able to make mistakes and learn from them.
So if there’s something you want to do, go for it, and give it a try.
