Last night the wind blew hard outside of my house. In the middle of the night I heard a crash. I figured it was the icicles falling from the roof. But when I woke up this morning, I found that a small picture that had hung on my back porch had broken on the ground. The picture says, “If not now, when?”
I knew what I needed to do. I needed to text somebody.
If Not Now, When Will You Take Action?
I’ve been considering selling my home to pay off excess debt, and to downsize my living situation, for quite some time now. A few weeks ago, I called my real estate agent. I found out that he retired at the end of 2018. But he hooked me up with another realtor. I told her I was considering selling this spring and she recommended that she come to do an analysis now.
“But the house is messy and there’s 18 inches of snow everywhere,” I told myself. “It can wait awhile.” But when I saw that if-not-now-when picture on the ground this morning, something stirred. I figured that the universe was sending me a message. Procrastination was not helping me to make a decision.
So I texted the realtor and told her I was ready to follow through with the analysis. It’s set up for tomorrow.
I’m Still Not 100% Committed, but…
I took action. Nothing changes if we don’t take action. We have to take a first step in order to begin any given process. Time will tell if I follow through. It’s a little scary, thinking about selling a home, not knowing exactly where you’ll go next. Especially, when you’re the single parent of a teenaged girl.
There’s a slight chance I could land a new job outside of my current location. I’ve applied for a handful of teaching positions in California, Missouri, and Oregon. If nothing pans out on that front, I’ll stay at my current position. Even then, how much would I make on the sale of my house? Will it be enough to pay off a $25,000 personal loan? Will there be extra for a potential down payment on something else? Do I even want to buy again? Should I rent?
These are hard questions and the uncertainty can be overwhelming, but at least I’ve started the process.
Is There Something You’re Putting Off?
Is there something you’ve been thinking about doing that you keep putting off? Maybe, you want to start a business, create a blog, or write a book. Perhaps, you need to exercise or diet. Maybe, it’s a relationship you need to repair.
Whatever it is, I encourage you to take action. Don’t keep waiting. If something is gnawing at you, there’s likely a reason. Taking the first step doesn’t mean you have to follow through, but it’s a start in the right direction.
For me, I feel like there’s about a 80-90% chance that I’m going to sell my house this year. There are many reasons behind this pending decision. After all, if not now, when?
