Take Action
The habit of taking action is one of the most important habits one can develop in life.
Much of what passes as knowledge is actually ancient wisdom that has been repackaged or put into modern terms or language. I am simply quoting the words I have learned even though they may have come from an earlier source. The most important thing to remember is to take action. You can think about something all day but it doesn’t count until you actually do it. The sooner you get to something - the sooner you get through it!
“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” - Carl Jung. You are what your record says you are. Not what you think it should or could be.
“And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge, and all is blind except when there is knowledge, and that all knowledge is vain except when there is work.” - Khalil Gibran. You have to want to take action, have the knowledge to do it the right way, and the need to do that work now.
“Hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper.” - Francis Bacon. Even with the best intention, not actually doing something is an empty feeling.
“Start small, think big. Don’t worry about too many things at once. Take a handful of simple things to begin with, and then progress to more complex ones. Think about not just tomorrow, but the future. Put a ding in the universe.” - Steve Jobs. Don’t try to do everything at once. One step at a time but you need to take that first step in order to take that second one. You may be surprised how far you’ll actually get.
“And unless I’m crazy, you’re no closer to taking action on it then you were yesterday or will be tomorrow. You think Resistance isn’t real? Resistance will bury you.” - Steven Pressfield. Do it now! I don’t care what “it” is.
“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” - Rumi. Start the work and everything will take care of itself - but start!
“You don’t show up on game day and expect to be great. Greatness happens in practice. You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” - Michael Jordan. Practice does make perfect and you need to be in the habit of practicing whether you feel like it or not. That takes work and action.
“Limit the number of things on your to-do list and use impossible short deadlines to force immediate action while ignoring minutia.” - Tim Ferris. Do not multitask. Focus on the thing you are doing and ignore everything that does not have to deal with accomplishing that task. And act immediately.
“The most dangerous person is the one who listens, thinks, and observes.” - Bruce Lee. He should have added that the person who listens, thinks, observes and then acts is the most dangerous.
“Whatever you can do, do dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it. Begin it now.” - Goethe. Immemorial advice - do it and you’ll feel better in body and spirit. Do it now and feel the magic.