One day.

Funny phrase, really.

Most of us spend half our lives saying it.

One day I’ll do that.

One day I’ll go there.

One day I’ll sort that out.

One day I’ll say what I really mean.

It sounds harmless enough.

Hopeful, even.

But “one day” can be a strange place to live.

Because one day has no date.

No time.

No deadline.

It sits somewhere out in the distance where everything is easier, we’re braver, the timing is better, and somehow all the awkward bits have sorted themselves out.

It’s very convenient, is one day.

Too convenient sometimes.

Because the truth is, there are things we keep putting there not because we’re waiting for the right moment…

…but because we’re a bit frightened of the wrong one.

And that’s where another little phrase usually turns up.

What if?

What if I fail?

What if I look daft?

What if I get it wrong?

What if people don’t understand?

What if it changes everything?

What if it changes nothing?

We’re very good at what ifs.

We can build whole futures out of things that haven’t even happened.

And before long, “what if?” becomes the reason “one day” keeps getting pushed further away.

I’ve done it.

Plenty of times.

You probably have too.

There are things we all carry around in the back of our minds.

A conversation we need to have.

A place we keep meaning to visit.

Something we’d like to make.

Someone we ought to ring.

A chance we keep circling without quite taking.

And sometimes we tell ourselves we’re being sensible.

Maybe we are.

But sometimes…

we’re just waiting.

Waiting for certainty.

Waiting for confidence.

Waiting to feel completely ready.

And I’m not sure completely ready exists.

Life doesn’t usually send a letter saying:

“Dear you,

Everything is now perfectly lined up.

Please proceed.”

It would be useful if it did.

But it doesn’t.

Most of the important things seem to arrive with a bit of doubt attached.

You take the step anyway.

And perhaps that’s the bit we forget.

Courage isn’t always some grand, fearless thing.

Sometimes courage is sending the message.

Making the call.

Booking the ticket.

Starting the page.

Writing the first line.

Saying yes.

Saying no.

Saying, “I’ve been meaning to tell you this.”

Sometimes it’s simply deciding that “one day” has waited long enough.

Because there’s another side to what if.

A side we don’t ask nearly as often.

What if it works?

What if I enjoy it?

What if I’m better at it than I thought?

What if somebody says yes?

What if this becomes one of those moments I look back on and think…

thank goodness I did that.

That version of “what if?” deserves a bit more room.

Not reckless hope.

Not pretending everything will turn out beautifully.

Just allowing possibility to stand beside fear for once.

Because none of us know how much “one day” we’ve got.

And I don’t mean that in a gloomy way.

Quite the opposite.

I think that’s what makes today matter.

You don’t have to change your whole life by teatime.

You don’t need a grand plan.

You don’t have to climb a mountain, write a novel and learn the piano before Friday.

Maybe there’s just one small thing.

One thing you’ve been quietly moving into the “one day” pile.

Perhaps it’s worth looking at again.

Not asking:

“What if it all goes wrong?”

But maybe…

“What if I give it a go?”

And if not now…

when?

One day?

Maybe.

But every “one day” that ever happened…

eventually became a today.

So perhaps the better question isn’t:

“What if?”

Perhaps it’s:

Why not today?