When a student of classical dance or music performs on stage for the first time, the performance is called Arangetram.
It takes years of study under a master before the disciple is considered to be ready to perform in front of an audience.
The Arangetram is a grand occasion and a significant transition in the life of a student.
More importantly, it is the teacher who decides when the student is ready to take the stage.
Classical forms of art adhere to a very different set of rules and strict codes of conduct. Without the teacher’s blessings or permission, it’s sacrilege to think of oneself as being ready for the big stage.
This poses a very interesting question. What about the rest of us? Who is there to tell us when we’re ready to leap and move to the next level?
Be ready to start a business.
Be ready to quit a soul-sucking job.
Be ready overhaul old ways of working.
Be ready to get fit and run a marathon.
Turns out that for every change that we want to make, there will be those who encourage us as well as those who paint a doomsday picture. And if we’re incessantly looking for someone to say ‘you’re finally ready, you can now grace the stage and enthrall the world with your abilities and talents’, those words of support and encouragement may never come.
You may need support and encouragement to make and sustain a drastic change, but deciding that you’re ready to take the leap is your decision alone.
You’re as ready as you decide to be.
