Is It Time to Make the Change? A Reflection on Taking the Plunge

The plunge is calling!

There’s a well-known practice among Okinawa’s “blue zone” centenarians called Hara Hachi Bu—an approach to eating that suggests stopping when you’re about 80% full. It isn’t about precision but about maintaining an intentional margin. Instead of eating until uncomfortably stuffed, you stop as you approach satisfaction, leaving space rather than crossing the line.

I think about that principle often—but not just at the dinner table. When it comes to making big life changes, I suggest adopting a similar approach: leap when you feel about 80% ready. Not when you’re so perfectly prepared that it’s an absolute no-brainer, but when you’re nearly there—confident enough to believe you can grow the rest of the way.

I wrestled with this idea in my late twenties. After living and working abroad in Ireland, I returned home determined to create a more traditional, settled life. I worked as a traveling consultant until the 2008 economic crash, when I was fortunate to land a safer, more stable role with the state agency I’d been supporting. It was solid. Predictable. And for years, it meant taking almost no professional risks at all.

Eventually, those “safe” years started to feel like a trap. I was working in local government and living in a state capital I didn’t enjoy when I finally took the biggest leap I’d made in ages. I went back to consulting so I could travel again—but more importantly, so I could move to Texas and help my sister-in-law. She was pregnant with her third child and living on a military base while my brother was in law school several hours away.

That consulting firm became a big part of my identity. They were good to me for a long time. I liked my boss. The culture wasn’t cut-throat or hyper-competitive like many firms. I was promoted twice and eventually took over my boss’s role when she retired early.

When the Change Starts to Build from the Inside Out

The change is calling from within

That’s when things shifted. I wasn’t truly prepared for the role I inherited, nor was I given the support I needed as the organization evolved rapidly around me. I felt both out of my depth and completely stagnant—like I was holding a placeholder in a mosaic that was changing in corners far from me.

Deep down, I knew it was time to try something new. But I was scared. I’d built my reputation there. I worried I wasn’t good enough to succeed somewhere else. What if I couldn’t recreate the connections that had been so valuable in a big, complex organization? What if the grass wasn’t greener?

But I also had to ask myself: What would it mean if I stayed only because I was scared? Scared of my own limitations. Scared to test my willingness to work hard. Scared of failing on a smaller, more visible stage. And what would it say about the larger arc of my one wild and precious life if I didn’t believe in myself enough to invest in the “what if?” If I never explored what my potential might be?

When the Risk of Staying becomes Greater than the Risk of Going

The pandemic created a unique moment in the consulting world. Demand exploded, and firms fiercely competed for skilled resources. I took the plunge. In fact, I switched firms twice in just a few years. I learned an immense amount about consulting, my own expertise, and the industry by seeing it from multiple vantage points. I wasn’t stagnant anymore. Far from it. I felt creative, challenged, and deeply satisfied by work whose complexity and impact I relished.

It’s true that the consulting boom during the pandemic—much like 2% mortgage rates—may have been a once-in-a-lifetime window. I’m grateful I seized it. That decision didn’t just improve my career trajectory and lifetime earnings. It reignited my confidence and reminded me of the deep value in betting on myself.

Why We Rarely Feel 100% Ready

I share all this because so many of us get stuck waiting for the moment when we feel 100% ready. We wait for fear to disappear. For the outcome to feel certain. But those moments almost never come.

Instead, I encourage you to embrace the Hara Hachi Bu approach to change. Leap when you’re about 80% ready—when you know enough to believe it’s possible but still have space to grow into the version of yourself who can do it.

How to Know If You’re at 80%

Are you at eighty?

Here are some practical questions to help you figure out if you’re ready enough to make the leap:

• Assess your learning curve: Can you clearly name the skills you still need to develop? If you can identify them, you’re probably ready to start learning them on the job.

• Check your fear: Is it the fear of real danger, or just the discomfort of growth? Discomfort is often the clearest sign you’re right where you need to be.

• Consider the risk of staying: What does it truly cost you to remain where you are? Is staying actually safer, or is it simply more familiar?

• Run a worst-case scenario test: What’s the absolute worst that could happen if you try? How would you recover? Naming the worst case often takes away its power.

• Talk to someone who knows you well: Trusted friends and mentors often see our readiness more clearly than we do ourselves.

• Consider the opportunity window: Opportunity rarely knocks twice in exactly the same way. Ask yourself if this is the kind of chance you might regret not taking.

Making a big change is scary and exhilarating. It will rarely feel safe or certain. But often, the leap before you feel 110% ready is exactly the one you need to grow into the next chapter of your life.

If you are ready to start mapping out your next big change, reach out for a free consultation or look into our menu of services. And if you’re in the greater NYC area, think about joining our next group coaching cohort: The Changemaker Collective: Skills, Support, Success!