You’re standing at the edge. The water below is icy, your heart races, and your mind is spinning with reasons to delay. Maybe if you wait a few minutes, the water will somehow feel warmer. Maybe you’ll feel braver. Maybe you’ll be ready.
But here’s the truth: the cold water doesn’t get warmer if you wait to jump. It stays cold. And the longer you hesitate, the stronger the fear feels.
That fear—that resistance—isn’t a sign to stop. It’s a signal that you’re standing on the brink of growth. Whether it’s a tough conversation, a new role, a creative leap, or a life-changing decision, you’ll never feel ready to do something that truly scares you. So stop waiting for the perfect moment. Jump in scared.
Do it afraid. Do it unsure. Do it imperfectly.
Because confidence isn’t something you find before you act. It’s something you build through action. The first step is shaky. The second might still feel wrong. But with each step, your courage compounds. You gain proof that you can do hard things—not in theory, but in lived experience.
Too many of us wait to feel ready. We think courage is the absence of fear. It’s not. Courage is action in the presence of fear.
So whatever it is you’re hesitating on—launching that idea, applying for that job, speaking up in that meeting, starting over—ask yourself: Cold now or cold later? Because waiting doesn’t warm the water. But jumping in? That changes everything.
Feel the fear. And do it anyway.
Kenrick Vaz 