Introduction

There is a profound difference between arriving at a destination and merely thinking about the journey. I see it often, and if I’m honest, I have suffered from it myself. It is that comfortable purgatory where we convince ourselves we are making progress simply by contemplating the logistics. We ask ourselves, “What does it look like to get there?” rather than actually taking the first step.

I want to address why smart, capable professionals delay their independence longer than they should. It is rarely a lack of capability; it is usually a matter of mindset. In this article, I’ll share why your preparation might actually be procrastination in disguise, and how to finally break the cycle.

When Delay Looks Like Responsibility

The most dangerous form of procrastination is the kind that looks like work. For many of us, delay disguises itself as responsibility. We tell ourselves, “It’s not the right time,” or “I need to ensure X, Y, and Z are in place first”.

This need for planning encourages a false sense of safety. In an expensive economy, we crave the feeling of doing something sensible. We build elaborate structures and plans because structure feels good; it feels like control. We engage in long-term strategic thinking, defining unique approaches for stakeholders, but for many professionals, this strategy becomes a cover story for hesitation.

The result? We produce elaborate plans for Quarter 1 and Quarter 2, but we take no consolidated action. Time gets eaten up, the pressure builds, and we end up slowing down because we feel we can’t execute perfectly.

The Decision Decay Effect

Here is the hard truth I’ve had to learn: Overqualification is often just fear wearing a sensible suit. We convince ourselves we need one more certification or one more degree because we are afraid of what people might think. But as my wife once wisely told me, there is only so much learning you can do before you simply need to take action.

This hesitation triggers what I call the Decision Decay Effect. The longer a decision sits, the heavier it feels, and the less likely you are to take action on it. Your rational mind, the prefrontal cortex, eventually takes over, working with your emotional centres to talk you out of the risk.

In the employment world, you have safety nets: benefits, pensions, and employment law. When you go independent, you don’t remove risk; you transfer it. You become responsible for your own insurance, your own healthcare, and finding your own work. Accepting this transfer of risk is the price of admission.

Catching Momentum While It’s Hot

You must catch your belief whilst it is hot. Momentum doesn’t fade loudly; it leaks quietly. To stop the leak, you need to shift from planning to apprenticeship and execution. Here are some things to consider:

Define Your Stage: Are you truly at the foundational learning stage, or are you just hiding there? Most of you know enough to start.
Engineer Your Circle: You need to speak to the right people. Create a “power circle” or join a mastermind group. If you don’t have an accountability buddy this year, you are suffering unnecessarily.
Track Your Delivery: Don’t just plan. Move into delivery, track it, monitor it, and evaluate it.
Put in the Reps: Mastery comes from doing. I developed my own “REP framework” (Running Effective Programmes) not by reading about it, but by reviewing the programmes I delivered and spotting the patterns.

Betting on Yourself

Ultimately, independence requires you to bet on yourself to make a living. Your self-efficacy and capacity for autonomy must be high. If you aren’t comfortable with that, the anxiety of independence will be overwhelming.

Even with five years of independence under my belt, I still feel some anxiety when the market shifts. That is normal. But waiting doesn’t reduce the risk. It just pushes your goals further away until you find yourself five years down the line with “New Year, New Me” resolutions that are identical to the ones you set half a decade ago.

Conclusion

We need to get out of the suit and into some joggers; we need to get ready to work. Do not overplan. If you are wondering if you are truly ready, I have put together an independent consultant readiness self-assessment to give you an objective view of where you stand.

Momentum leaks quietly. Don’t let your independence slip away in the name of “responsibility.”

Understand. Reach. Expand.

Peace.