We live in a world obsessed with timelines.

“By 30, I should be married.”

“By next year, I need to be in a management position.”

“In five years, I want to be a CEO.”

We set goals and attach deadlines and milestones. And yes, smart goals make sense generally.

However, this practice of setting dates simply because we feel like we are running out of time seems to make us feel productive and even focused.

But here’s the truth we often ignore: a date on the calendar doesn’t make you ready.

Readiness isn’t just about what you desire.

Readiness is about developing what is necessary to achieve the goal, and sometimes that means developing you, the person.

We often want the thing (the title, the lifestyle, the success) without becoming the kind of person who can hold, sustain, and steward it.

I’ve seen it time and time again in different leadership spaces.

People say they want to lead teams, yet they avoid hard conversations.

They say they want to run companies, yet they haven’t taken the time to understand how systems, teams, and strategy align.

They want to become “the thing” without showing up as the thing, long before anyone gives them the title.

Want to be a CEO? Great. But can you manage your time? Can you inspire people? Can you understand finance, marketing, HR, and customer experience enough to lead across silos?

Want to be a parent? Beautiful. But are you healing the parts of you that were shaped by trauma, especially the trauma you think was not trauma? Are you practicing empathy, patience, and emotional regulation before a child arrives?

Preparation should not be passive. It’s not something you start once the goal is within reach.

Preparation is becoming the thing before you get the thing.

And here’s an even harder truth, most people go in to denial about: the becoming rarely fits neatly into a two-year plan.

Sometimes, it takes longer because you have more unlearning to do.

Sometimes, you’ll feel like you’re ready, only to realize that life is still preparing you in unseen ways.

Sometimes, your version of readiness won’t match the version life requires, and you’ll have to stretch, shift, and surrender.

But don’t lose hope.

This isn’t to say give up the goal or change it. It’s more so to ask:

Who do you need to become in order to be worthy of that goal… not just on paper, but in practice?

Because real power lies not in achieving the thing, but in becoming the version of yourself who can walk in it.

Becoming the version of yourself who has already embodied what the goal requires of you, and has put in the work before the work was necessary.

Babies don’t just stand up at month 10 and start to run marathons, so what makes you think you are the chosen one for a role before you have upskilled yourself across the board enough to deserve a seat?

If you continue to be honest with yourself, you will know that timelines mean nothing without preparation.

So ask yourself:

Am I showing up as the thing I say I want, before the title arrives?

What am I learning, unlearning, and embodying in preparation for that vision?

Am I willing to recognise that where I want to go requires a different version of who I am today?

Because it’s not just about getting there.

It’s about being someone who is ready when you do.