Hi, I’m Reli. And honestly, I’ve always struggled to take action. That’s actually why I started this blog and named it Reli Set Go. Haha. To finally start, move, and take action.
A short background about me — I’m someone who always wants to plan everything. I set goals, create step-by-step plans, and think carefully about what I need to do to achieve them.
But what usually happens is this: if I can’t clearly see in my mind how things will unfold, I overthink everything and end up not starting at all. Sometimes I try a little, but eventually give up.
Before, I thought I was just a perfectionist. I believed I simply needed to plan everything carefully to stay safe and secure. But while listening to The Mindset Mentor podcast by Rob Dial, I realized that perfectionism is actually rooted in fear — fear of making mistakes, fear of judgment, and fear of failure.
I played safe all the time, and that became the reason why I stayed stuck. I learned from Jay Shetty that being stuck is not because you don’t know what to do, but because you’re unconsciously holding onto something that’s preventing you from moving forward. In my case, it was comfort and certainty. I was afraid that if I tried something new or different, I might fail, struggle, or won't be able to handle it.
Listening to Mel Robbins made me realize also that I was stuck because I overthink and overcomplicate everything. Since I always want things to be perfectly planned, I tend to analyze every possible outcome before doing anything. Most of the time, the outcomes I imagine are negative, which stops me from even starting.
Take this blog for example. What I really want is to become a speaker. BUT every time I think about it, I tell myself, “It’s not as easy as it sounds.” So even though that dream has been in my heart for a long time, I wasn’t doing anything about it.
Whenever I felt stuck or lost in life, that desire to speak and inspire people would always come back. So eventually, I decided to start a podcast because it felt aligned with my dream. BUT when I started, I realized it was hard to simply record my thoughts. That led me to write blogs because I felt like I needed a script first to organize my thoughts and express them properly. BUT then again, while writing reflections and lessons, I realized I can only write so much because of the limited experiences I had. So once again, I stopped.
I explored other things I thought might be “for me,” but I would always end up not fully pursuing them. Then I’d feel trapped again. So I would soul-search, reflect, and try to figure out my purpose all over again. But somehow, it always brought me back to the same dream — speaking.
I tried learning how to set up a website and upload blogs, BUT I struggled so much navigating everything that I stopped again. Then I explored other opportunities: attended seminars, enrolled in online courses, studied digital products, and tried different paths. BUT nothing truly moved forward. I became stuck in a cycle of endlessly exploring what might work for me while always finding reasons not to continue. But thank God, here I am now — writing this blog, recording a podcast, and finally starting.
As I write this, I honestly have mixed emotions. I realized how much overthinking has held me back, how difficult it was for me to start, and how easily I gave up whenever things became uncomfortable. It’s ironic because I’m someone who hates wasting time, yet fear and overthinking made me waste more time than I can imagine. That realization honestly hurts. But instead of focusing on regret, I want to focus on something positive: at least I kept trying. I explored. I reflected. I kept looking for answers instead of simply staying still. And this time, I’m making a firm decision to pursue this dream in my heart no matter how difficult the journey may become.
As Mel Robbins said: “You are one decision away from a completely different life.” You don’t even have to know whether it’s the perfect decision. You just make the decision and make it the right one through consistent action. Because when you keep giving yourself endless options, you also keep trapping yourself in endless overthinking. At some point, you simply need to choose a direction, focus on it, and move.
Her “5 Second Rule” also greatly helped me start this. Whenever fear or doubt starts controlling my mind, I count: 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… then action.
And honestly, Mel is someone who inspires me deeply. I hope that one day, I can also help people the way she is helping me now.
So with that…Let’s go.
Reli. Set. Go!