Stop Waiting for the Perfect Moment: Life Lessons from Procrastination and Missed Shots

I remember my college days vividly—especially the nights I crammed right before an exam, waiting until the last minute to start a project, and pulling all-nighters like it was some kind of rite of passage. I wish I could say I aced all my classes and graduated with honors. Truth is, I barely scraped by. And honestly? That habit didn’t end with college—I started scraping by in life, too.

Looking back, I think part of it came from a lack of direction and discipline. The other part? Feeling completely overwhelmed. Sometimes when you’re too sheltered growing up, you don’t develop the coping skills needed to face the real world head-on. That was me—great at memorizing flashcards, not so great at handling stress, deadlines, or real-life decisions.

Now as an adult, I’ve had to learn life’s lessons the hard way. And yet, even now, I still procrastinate. Most of the time, it’s because I’m scared—scared of making the wrong decision, scared of failing, scared that I don’t have what it takes. So instead of taking action, I freeze. I don’t even start.

Sometimes, all my focus gets sucked into one specific thing—like waiting for a job interview result—and everything else gets swept aside. It’s not because I’m lazy, but because I’m stuck. I’m anxious. I feel like I can’t move forward until that one thing moves first. And sometimes, it’s as simple and real as not having enough money to pay the bills, which can feel paralyzing.

That’s exactly how I feel right now. I want to be motivated, but it seems like the world isn’t cooperating. Things aren’t moving at my speed. Take the interview I had last week—I’ve been anxiously waiting for the outcome. It feels like life is in limbo until I hear back, and that limbo is exhausting.

But here’s what I’ve come to realize: sometimes the ball isn’t in your court, and all you can do is shift focus. Waiting in anxiety won’t make decisions come any faster. We need to accept the moment we’re in and move forward with the things we can control.

It’s okay to feel scared, anxious, even drained—especially when you’ve poured all your energy into one thing. But we can’t just stand there, staring up at the shot we took, hoping it lands. Like in basketball, whether the ball swishes through the net or bounces off the rim, the game continues. You either get ready for the rebound or sprint back on defense.

You can’t win the game by standing still.

This reminder is as much for me as it is for you: stay focused, stay moving. Don’t wait until the last second to get into position—it’ll cost you the game. Life doesn’t always move at our pace, but that doesn’t mean we stop moving altogether.

We might not always control the outcome, but we do control how we show up for the next play.