“Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” — Steve Jobs

I’m a present-moment kind of coach. Many of my clients talk about what they are “going to do.” Some even talk about what they’re going to do as if they already did it. But then a strange thing happens. They never . . . quite . . . do it.

They put off leaving the job or relationship they feel stuck in. They say they’ll start a health and wellness program tomorrow. They say they will start their business in three months. They have a million reasons why now is not the right time. Something else has to happen first. To bring certainty. To make it safer.

My question for you is: How quickly do you want your transformation to come? One day I prayed for patience, and I thought that would speed things up, when it actually slowed things down. But I can also say that the speed at which your transformation occurs depends on your courage. When I’ve been courageous, things have happened quickly. I’ve also delayed transformation.

The hard part is coming to terms with the little voice in your head that says, You should be further along by now. When that thought pops up, I respond, “Based on what?” We can’t hold ourselves accountable to anyone else’s timeline.

How fast your life changes will also be determined by your belief system (more on your beliefs later). You can easily plug into the belief that you need to wait for X, Y, or Z reasons. Or you could plug into the belief that now is the time, and you must begin immediately.

I was recently with a client who shared with me all the benefits of not ling her divorce papers. One of the reasons was because her husband was still paying her each month, so we got clear about the fact that she was staying for the money. She was honest about it, and I respect honesty. But then she said something that I need to share with you. She said that if she led the papers, she would be missing out on the certainty of money coming in regularly for her and her children. When I heard that, I asked her a question that made her pause: “What are you missing out on by not ling?”

You see, The Universe hates a vacuum. When you make a change, you create a vacuum. And when you create a vacuum, something new will come along to fill it. This is law. You can only create something new with space.

We are scared of creating a vacuum because that space, or momentary sense of not having safety, triggers our SPs. That’s why we resist change. Change triggers our fear of possible or impending death, so we put it off, and put it off, and put it off.

All the while, however, your Soul is watching. When you lack courage, life tends to get messy, and you get closer and closer to a Divine Storm. The crises in your life, the stuckness, the frustration, the powerlessness, these things are Divinely sent. They happen because you won’t make a move until you’re in too much pain not to make a move.

Most humans learn through pain. We can also learn through joy, but learning through joy requires us to be spontaneous and take risks no matter what’s at stake. That’s much harder to do.

Why change now? Because if you don’t, the intensity of your Divine Storms will only get worse. I’m not saying this to scare you. I’m saying it because it’s true.

So I ask you: When would now be a good time to begin?

That’s right—right now.

It’s your time. You can’t wait another year, another month, another week, day, hour, or minute. It’s come down to right here, right now. It’s time to commit to change.

But why?

Creating clarity

We need to get clear about why now is the right time to change. Each day our work together will require absolute honesty, so let’s take some time to really think about this. Think about all you’ve missed out on by playing small, trying to be perfect, procrastinating until your next life, or by putting others first. Think about all the times your Soul has nudged you to leave a relationship, start a business, let the right one in, to truly trust yourself, to take care of your body, to quit your job, to do what you love even though you have kids, and to let yourself truly live.

The truth is, you have missed out. You’ve missed out on love. On passion. On joy. On excitement. On adventure. You know this deep in your Heart.

I don’t say this to shame you. I say this because truth creates the emotion needed to inspire change. So don’t fret. After our time together, you will be set free, and you will experience more than enough love, passion, joy, excitement, and adventure. But right now it’s time to get real about what you’ve been missing out on.

What am I missing?

Be honest with yourself and spend some time writing in your journal about what you’ve missed out on because you have let fear win—until now.

When it comes to romance, I’ve missed out on:
When it comes to my work, career, or business, I’ve missed out on:
When it comes to my health and well-being, I’ve missed out on:
When it comes to my connection with my Creator, I’ve missed out on:
When it comes to my connection with my family and friends, I’ve missed out on:
When it comes to my finances, I’ve missed out on:
When it comes to contributing to others, I’ve missed out on:
The good I’ve prevented from entering my life is:

Awesome.

I know that writing out these answers can be challenging, but trust the process. If you feel you weren’t entirely honest, please go back and try again. You can’t transform without first being real with yourself.

Life has a tendency to slip by you. You can’t always feel it, but a day can turn into a week, a week into a month, and a month into a year. The next thing you know, a year has turned into a decade, and you never quite got around to transforming your life.

No more. You will no longer allow even one more moment to pass without taking courageous action toward your Purpose. Now is your time. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Now. Right here. Right now.

So much has been missed already in this life. You can’t wait one more day to change. You don’t want to miss one more moment of joy, connection, excitement, love, or adventure. You have no idea what wonderful things your Creator has in store for you once you commit to trusting your true Purpose.

Why is now the right and only time for you to change? Declare to yourself, to me, to your Soul, and to your Creator why you won’t wait one more moment to change.

Mastin Kipp is the creator of Functional Life Coaching(TM), best-selling author of Claim Your Power and “up and coming thought leader of the next generation of spiritual thinkers,” according to Oprah.

This article first appeared on Thrive Global.

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