There is no checklist, despite what you may have heard, on how to be transgender. A lot of people want to start passing as much as possible. Both to test the waters, so to speak and to help wrap their head around who they are working towards being.
I'm trying to understand where you are coming from. You have anxiety about your body but you feel that binding is somehow dishonest? You are fine with wearing a costume (a body that's not yours) for the time being? People bind and pack to feel more secure with themselves but it's not a requirement to being transgender.
There are legal reasons why people do these things. I'm not sure how it is these days as I've been at this for awhile. Still I remember you use to have to live a year as the opposite gender from your birth assigned gender to qualify for sex reassignment surgery. Before I started taking T I had to get a letter from my therapist stating that I was living and acting as male in order to begin hormone treatments. Binding is part of that as it's hard to impossible to live as male, that is being seen as male, while having obvious breasts.
You know I read someone saying once that we (transsexuals) don't bind and pack for ourselves but for the world at large. We do these things to make it easier for society to see us as we see ourselves. So they will know what pronouns to use and how to address us without us having to remind and convince them constantly.
People most likely won't see you as you see yourself until you do what you can to modify your presentation. However if you are secure enough within yourself then good for you. That takes a stellar amount of backbone.
