Progress Not Perfection

Over the last couple of weeks, I revisited two books by Oliver Burkeman: 4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals and Meditation for Mortals. The former is probably my favorite book of all time—a re-read that didn’t just hold up, it hit even harder the second time around.

As I listened to the audiobooks, a few thoughts really stuck with me, especially Oliver’s take on a concept I thought I already understood: Analysis Paralysis. I’d first come across that phrase years ago while learning about real estate investing. Back then, it meant running endless spreadsheets, reading book after book, and never quite pulling the trigger—because I was still “preparing.”

But Burkeman helped me realize something bigger: analysis paralysis isn’t just a real estate issue. It’s a life issue. We all put off action because we’re waiting to be more ready, more informed, more "in shape," more whatever. And we do this constantly.

Take tonight. I’d just finished a run and knew I should stretch. I found a solid 13-minute video. And yet, part of me hesitated—as if 13 minutes at 9 PM was a major sacrifice. The truth is, I want to be the kind of person who stretches daily. But my brain said, “Well, maybe you should first become the kind of person who works out daily. Then you can graduate to stretching.”

Ridiculous, right?

But that’s what we all do. We create false prerequisites. We imagine there’s some perfect version of ourselves that we need to become before we’re allowed to start doing the things we know would help us. The irony? The fastest path to becoming that kind of person... is just doing the thing. Stretch once. Then again. Then tomorrow.

This isn’t about stretching. It’s about everything.

We delay. We hesitate. We build elaborate excuses and then decorate them with noble intentions. But beneath it all is fear. Mostly, fear of not doing it perfectly. And yet we know perfection is a myth. Nobody’s perfect. Even if someone was, their perfection shouldn’t stop us from chasing growth.

It’s not about perfection. It’s about progress.

Stretching after a run is just one moment. But the mindset behind it? That runs deep. We do the same in life—we wait for a better job, the right time, the clearer plan. We hesitate because we think the journey has to be neatly mapped out.

But life’s not a blueprint. It’s a river. We’re just guiding our little kayaks down the current, bumping off rocks and adjusting our paddles as we go.

Here’s a quick story I love:

A student once asked a philosophy professor what the secret to life was.
The professor paused, looked over his glasses, and said,
“I used to keep a notebook where I wrote down every answer I found.”
“And?” the student asked.
He shrugged. “Lost the notebook. Best thing that ever happened to me.”

That’s the truth: wisdom isn’t about figuring life out. It’s about understanding that you never fully will.

And that’s okay.

There are a million ways the world has tried to tell us this:

• Fortune favors the bold.

• Action is the foundational key to all success.

• The way is made by walking.

• He who dares, wins.

• Strike while the iron is hot.

Yes, they might sound cliché—but only because they’re repeated so often. And they’re repeated so often because they’re true.

At Restless Souls, we believe growth happens at the edge of your comfort zone. But you don’t need to be “ready” to start. You just need to begin.

Don’t wait for better conditions. Don’t wait to be a better version of yourself. That version is waiting on the other side of action.

Just do.