Exception: space missions.⁠
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Most of us aren't dealing with rocket science, but many of us get stuck perfecting a plan anyway—as if one sub-optimal step on our journey is death.⁠
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We spend hours and hours on "what ifs," running alternate simulations in our head, and plotting a foolproof course to wherever.⁠
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It has to be foolproof. God forbid we get halfway and have to pivot!⁠
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We tinker and tinker—and we don't do anything. We tell ourselves we'll FLY off towards a goal—just as soon as the plan comes together. It'll be smooth sailing since everything's already been accounted for. We can finally shut off that overanalytical brain of ours and execute.⁠
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Except: of course that's not how that works, because no plan is perfect. (Again, with the exception of rocket science.) We can spend our whole lives crafting the perfect plan and either fail and never do anything or think (foolishly) that we nailed it and then freeze up the moment something unexpected happens. Then it's back to incessant planning after a brief period of mourning.⁠
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What happens if we just pick a direction and go? A good plan usually comes together. If you take one step in any direction, all of a sudden you have a lot more information to work with. You get a better sense of the terrain; you know more about the tools you'll need; you know where some pitfalls lie. You don’t have to visualize and project what might lie ahead; you can see it.⁠
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Take one step, and you're wayyy more prepared to make that perfect plan you so desperately want. Take another ten and you'll laugh at how silly it was to chase perfection back where you started.⁠
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You don't have to go in blind. Get a sense of where you need to go and plot a course that "makes sense." We're not going for "guaranteed success;" we're shooting for "that could work!"⁠
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Your perfect plan will only come together in hindsight.⁠
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You time is better spent moving and reflecting than it is planning.⁠
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I guarantee the idea you have already is already a good enough starting point.⁠
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(Once again: unless you're going to space.)⁠
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Now get going.