Nothing < Something < The Right Thing

Perfection is Not Necessary

Last week, Katie and I were talking with some friends about what “perfect” means. It is a frustrating concept because it does not really exist for us in the mess of everyday life. However, towards the end we ended up landing on a similar, yet different, concept of “perfectly imperfect” – when something is of greater value to us because of its unique and characteristic flaws.

In my experience, even in times that feel chaotic, unplanned, or stressful, everything settles down and turns out alright. I just have to pause and look around at any moment and notice all of the little things that have fallen into place. This helps me to realize that everything that I used to be stressed about has resolved and is no longer a concern; therefore, everything that I am currently worried about will be okay as well. There is a 100% success rate for the things I used to worry about being resolved, almost perfectly.*

The Hindrance of Hesitation

In baseball, when a runner decides to steal a base, there are often milliseconds between being safe or tagged out. Any split seconds spent second guessing or just not committing to the task at hand can result in a negative outcome.

How many times does uncertainty hold you back each day?

Hesitation holds me back from making so many choices, either because I want to guarantee a safe decision, not risk making the wrong choice, or because I am just unsure. Luckily, in our everyday life, it is not as cut and dry as being safe or out completely. We often have multiple chances to succeed. Yet, at the same time there are clear losses that still are a result of this hesitation.

Each time Katie and I buy flights to visit her family, I kick myself a bit, wishing that I had taken the time to research and apply for a travel credit card. I have been talking about doing it for 2 years now, but I get so hung up on all of the options. I hesitate over the fear of picking the wrong card, and the points not being as valuable. Meanwhile, if I had made any choice 2 years ago, even the wrong choice would have been paying us back by now!

There are certain areas where each day, month, or quarter that I hesitate, I am holding myself back from what I know are good things. I hold off because I want to make sure my choices are perfect, but instead I do nothing.

Something > Nothing

Late last year, I was first learning about some investing. I had done a little bit of research and was convinced that Vanguard was a good way to go for investing some extra money that we won’t be needing for a few years. So I opened up an account, and I liked VTSAX as my choice, so I made a purchase of $3,000.

A few months later I realized that I probably should have opened a Roth IRA to invest that money with tax-free growth instead of in a generic taxable account. I was bummed about my lack of understanding until I realized that although I would be taxed on my dividends and gains from this investment, having it invested was better than letting that money sit and do nothing. It hit me that it is better to have the $35 we have made in dividends and pay tax on it, than it is to have nothing at all.

Also, I could not have known, but when I bought my first shares of VTSAX, it just happened to be a dip in the price, so had I hesitated any bit of time I would have missed out on more growth. At the current time of writing, VTSAX is priced at $73.82, and I bought that first $3,000 at $65.16. So my $3,000 is now right around $3,400. Sure if all of this growing was in a tax-advantaged account that would have been the “right” thing, but doing something was better than doing nothing.

The Right Thing > Something

It is a beautiful thing in this life that we get second chances and even can adjust our decisions along the way. Many times, hesitation is caused by fear. Whether it is fear of a bad outcome, or just an imperfect one, the hesitation is the same. However, as I mentioned with my first crack at investing or with my lack of choosing a travel rewards card to apply for, almost always it is best to try to do something than it is to wait until you know exactly what is best. The key is to get started somewhere, then make adjustments and fine tune later.

Most of the learning comes in doing, and especially in doing poorly. You just have to get started and take a step forward towards your goal, then you can always adjust along the way but it is better to get moving in your general direction than to sit still.

Many times we don’t even need to know where the end is to start walking in a direction. You only need to see the first step. Then trust that a little guidance will show you the next one.

First Step In Faith

Taking the first step in anything can be a good exercise in faith. It takes trust in yourself, others, and in God to put your foot towards a new project or goal in life because you can never know what the outcome is going to be. More often than not, where you end up won’t be what you pictured to be “perfect” but at the same time it will be perfect in its own way because it was a great journey, or it was a hard journey that taught you something that you needed to learn.

It is amazing how often God will take your first step towards something, in all of its imperfection, bless it, and make it into exactly the right thing. I could not have predicted that there would be a dip in the market at the end of last year, but with some trust and following that with some dollar cost averaging, those gains (though taxed) will hopefully help us put a down payment on a house some day.

The same applies in our faith and relationship to God. It would be absurd to spend life not praying because you need 100% certainty that your prayers will be answered. Start somewhere. Anywhere! But pray. Then you can adjust later.

The same way you can always adjust your finances with some effort and research, you can reorient your plan of life and your spiritual wellness with some effort and virtue.

When Something is the Right Thing

I began praying with the challenge from a friend to spend 10 minutes each day in quiet reflection, ideally in a church or place of reverence and God’s presence (see masstimes.org for some places near you). I wasn’t even close to reaching that goal at first but it was the something that was better than nothing, and over the years those became the first steps towards all of the joy i have found in prayer over the years.

Start by doing the something and God will likely bless your efforts and redirect you to right where you need to go!

Something is greater than nothing, and with a little faith, something is many times just the right thing.

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*If you want to help future you to see all of the amazing ways that God provides for you, try this little exercise.

• In a notebook, list bullet points of every current worry or concern that you can think of.
• Ask God to solve these problems the way that He knows is perfect, not necessarily in the way that you want.
• Trust in Faith.
• Every few months, revisit that page in your notebook
• As each item is resolved, line it out and write how it was solved next to it.
• Say “Thank you” to God for each problem and its solution.

This is a great way to be thankful and also to pray through all that concerns you. Talk to God about these things and what your hopes are for them, he will likely have just the right plan for you.