"All those who achieved great things did so while escaping a predicament, a dead end."
When I came across this quote while browsing social media, it reminded me of a chapter from Salah Abu Al-Majd's book The Mistakes titled "Don't Dig When You're Thirsty."
The chapter revolves around a simple but powerful idea: many people do not take action until they are forced into a situation where they see no way out except through effort, movement, and achievement. The author illustrates this with an example.
Imagine a man lost in the desert with three bottles of water. He considers digging a well so that he will have a source of water once his supply runs out. Then he changes his mind and says, "I'll start digging when my water is gone."
Eventually, the water runs out, and thirst overwhelms him. Only then does he begin digging. Now imagine that, while digging, he discovers contaminated water that is unsafe to drink. Would he leave it and continue searching for a better source? Probably not.
At that point, he no longer has the luxury of choice because he has placed himself in a situation where his options have all but disappeared. He is forced to settle for whatever is available. Had he started digging while he still had water, he could have rejected the contaminated source and continued searching for a better one. Because he would have acted before desperation set in, he would have retained the freedom to choose.
A more familiar example is the university student who has years to learn, develop skills, and prepare for the future, yet spends that time procrastinating. The years pass, graduation arrives, and he suddenly collides with a job market that demands abilities he never took the time to acquire. At that moment, he finds himself in a reality where his choices are severely limited by his lack of preparation. He may end up accepting jobs unrelated to his field of study not necessarily because that is what he wants, but because his options have narrowed. Only then does he recognize the consequences of his inaction, and only then does he begin learning, improving, and working hard but now under pressure. Had he taken the initiative during his university years, he could have avoided much of that pressure and given himself a far wider range of opportunities. Instead of being pushed toward whatever options remained, he could have chosen among many possibilities. Human beings are curious creatures. Often, they do not move because they want to; they move because they no longer have any other choice. So choose to act before action is forced upon you.
The best time to dig a well is while you still have water.