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#030 Stop Waiting, Start Moving: On Expecting Less and Doing More

You Won’t Always Be Ready. Begin Anyway.

Author

Rey Mungai
August 01, 2025

“That cucumber is bitter, so toss it out! There are thorns on the path, then keep away! Enough said. Why ponder the existence of nuisance? Such thinking would make you a laughing-stock to the true student of Nature, just as a carpenter or cobbler would laugh if you pointed out the sawdust and chips on the floors of their shops. Yet while those shopkeepers have dustbins for disposal, Nature has no need of them.”

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.50

This morning’s entry from The Daily Stoic was a sharp and timely reminder: perfection is a trap.

We’re often tempted to wait for the perfect moment. We tell ourselves we’ll start writing when we’re inspired, launch the idea when the timing is better, or have that conversation when things calm down. But life doesn’t work like that. As Marcus Aurelius once wrote, “That cucumber is bitter? Toss it out.” Nature doesn’t dwell. It moves.

The Stoics remind us that the world is messy by design — chipped, thorny, unpredictable. There will always be sawdust on the floor and people who annoy us. If we keep waiting for everything to line up before we act, we’ll be waiting forever.

Instead of resenting the mess, we can choose to work with it. Begin with what’s in front of you. Sweep the floor if you must, but don’t let the dust stop you from building. Don’t confuse discomfort with a reason to delay. Clarity often comes through action, not before it.

You don’t need a perfect environment to make progress. You just need the courage to begin, again and again, in spite of the imperfections.

So toss the bitter cucumber. Start where you are. And remember — the job still needs to be done.

Reflection Questions:

  • What task or goal are you delaying in search of better timing?

  • What “petty annoyances” are you letting get in the way?

  • What would it look like to begin today — as things are?

Speak soon,

Rey Mungai

Sophia • Andreia • Dikaiosyne • Sophrosyne

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