Who do you truly want to be? Have you ever felt trapped by perfectionism, waiting for the "right moment" to pursue your dreams? Discover how taking action, instead of waiting for destiny to unfold, can redefine your path and identity.

Who Do You want to Be?

As kids, we're often asked what we want to be when we grow up.

Our answers range from the trivial to the extraordinary - like a truck driver or an astronaut. Over time, these aspirations usually change based on our hobbies and talents, evolving into roles such as a musician, painter, or soccer player.

Although our answers may shift, we always carry an image of who we want to become in the future. This vision serves as our inspiration, our north star.

For example, in recent years my dream has been to become a creator, sharing my voice with you in hopes of solving a problem or two in your life, helping you smile a bit more, and encouraging you to explore different perspectives.

Before I could embark on this journey, I believed I had to become an exceptional writer. I sought perfection.

So, I waited.

For three years, "become a creator" lingered on my bucket list while I took one writing course after another, read "just one" more book, and sharpened my mind and pen like a warrior preparing for battle.

I could have waited indefinitely.

Fortunately, one day I decided that enough was enough. I rejected perfectionism, and because of that, I can share this moment with you. Otherwise, these words would have remained buried in a digital drawer or never come to fruition.

Chasing Our Destiny

Writing the first post was challenging, but it didn't stop there. I immediately questioned whether writing was "in my cards." I thought that if I were meant to be a writer, I would "feel it" in my bones, my unique talent would reveal itself and make my newsletter sensational overnight.

Any result less than perfect would suggest I was pursuing a dead end and should switch to a different dream.

Now I can tell you - the first step is the hardest, but the second is the most crucial.

It's tempting to believe our destiny is prewritten, that somewhere out there lies our purpose, and that we carry a unique talent waiting to be discovered.

Even if that's true we have no way of knowing it. Consider your life right now - your profession, relationships, and environment. Even if looking back it all "makes sense" that you would be in this place, it's nearly impossible to have predicted it in advance.

According to determinism, everything is preordained, just like the movement of stars, gravity, and even baking - everything operates based on universal rules. We are not exceptions, our complexity is "merely" a chemical brain and a physical body governed by the same laws.

Yet, even in a deterministic world where "free will" is an illusion, we must confront the fundamental question of "what do I want to do now?" along with the more complex one of "who do I want to be?"

This is why I appreciate pragmatism, which claims that "what's true is what works, what helps us navigate life, regardless of absolute physical truths." For instance, instead of asking whether God really exists, a pragmatist would ask, "Does believing in God improve my life? Does religious life or community benefit me?"

Similarly, I view destiny not as a deterministic question about whether we can predict human behavior with endless knowledge, but rather as a pragmatic one. Does believing in fate help us live a better life?

Wait for It?

Fate encourages us to "wait for it," to search for what comes naturally and to give up if we don't see immediate results, as there's no sense in trying.

Being a pragmatist, on the other hand, calls for action. It's through our actions that we become who we wish to be.

Our destiny is created, not discovered. This resonates with Sartre famous quote (that also inspired the title) - "Existence precedes essence", which means that we come into this world without any preordained plan, and that we have to find "the meaning of life" ourselves.

Don't wait until "you are ready" or for a "sign" to present yourself to the world, you will never be fully prepared. Rather, it is through action that you become ready.

Consider the difference between endlessly watching videos on how to play the guitar and actually trying to play it. You can't be a guitarist until you've made the attempt.

Aristotle said that action creates identity, not the other way around - we become builders by building and moral people by performing moral acts: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."

The path of action is scary. We face many obstacles, such as:

1. Perfectionism - "If it's not the best, it's not worth it."
2. Imposter syndrome - "I feel like I'm pretending to know what I'm doing, while others are the true experts."
3. Procrastination - "I have to research everything before I begin."

Despite these rational fears, our response should remain the same: "I will learn on the go, taking the smallest step possible, and then the next one."

Slowly but surely, acting like the person you want to become will transform you into that person.

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