Acting Instead of Thinking
What if you stopped trying to think your way through it and started to act your way through it?
Thinking through ideas leads to lists so many lists. Lists of what to read, what to do, who to listen to, resources to explore, and on and on. I create all these lists thinking that they will inspire or lead me to act but what they really are doing is putting off the action.
The thinking is something most of us relate to. We think about how to get a better job and make a list of places to apply, we think about the trip we want to take and make a list of the places we’ll see there, we think about a new business idea and make lists of our brainstorming…we think and we make a list. Then we take that list put it on a shelf or in a folder and forget about it.
If we acted instead of thinking we would actually get things done. When I spend my time just thinking and making lists I am just putting off what I already know I want, many of us are just putting off what we already know. I know what I want, I know the life I deserve and by avoiding acting I keep putting it off.
If we were acting on our dreams and goals we would just do it. We would apply for the job and actively network, we would seek out a business coach, we would book the flights and hotels, we would set up a meeting with someone in a field we are working to break into. When we act we move forward. Action is energy and excitement an progress.
Thinking just generates more and more ideas and will continue to take us down the rabbit hole to another idea and create this maze where we are lost and don’t even know where we started. Thinking pulls us away from what we already know we want and is just a distraction. Acting is being confident in what you want.
It is scary to take those big actionable steps. It means making yourself vulnerable and our instincts fear being in that position. Although, if there’s a small chance you’re going to fail, don’t you want to know right now? Wouldn’t you rather have the question answered than constantly thinking “what if”? What is that failure you’re scared of? Really answer that. Are you scared you threw away money on an idea or that no one will support you or that you’ll be stuck in your current role…if that is it, that is not even a little bit scary. What is more scary is being stuck in a life you don’t want.
I want you to take a few minutes to think about these two questions:
What thinking am I doing right now that is holding me back?
What acting should I be doing that will push me closer to what I want?
