Consider the story of Sidney…
Sidney is a victim of “over-think.”
When he has to do something important, he agonizes over the details but doesn’t take action.
In other words, he worries so much that he is afraid to take the first step until he is certain it is absolutely right.
Or, if he does take a first step he thinks so much about what to do next that he freezes up and takes no further action.
What Sidney doesn’t realize is that one learns to do things by doing them.
This means being willing to tolerate initial mistakes as one goes forward.
Sidney wants to be a writer, so he buys books on how to write.
He reads them and takes a few tentative steps in the writing process but allows himself to be frozen in place by his need be perfect.
It has taken Sidney twenty years of fits and starts before he finally has discovered a recipe for writing that can work for him.
Not surprisingly, he found it in a book.
What made this book different was that the author encouraged the reader to write badly — at first. [The Right to Write by Julia Cameron.]
This was a totally new concept to Sidney.
In essence, the book gave permission to a new writer to simply write.
It worked for Sidney.
He began his newfound writing career after twenty years of preparation and procrastination.
So, what’s the lesson?
First, know what you want.
Accept the fact that you want it.
Accept that you have a right to want it (provided it is a moral and rational desire).
Accept that you have the power to achieve it.
Then take yourself seriously.
Trust yourself.
Finally, take action.
Base this action of the facts and keep aware of the changing circumstances.
Be alert to fine nuances and be ready to shift course if it makes rational sense (and is not based on fear or what others think).
Once you have the knowledge (or part of the knowledge you need) you take steps to achieve your goals.
You act.
Knowledge with no possibility of action lacks meaning for your life.
You must take action and begin your struggle to achieve what you set out to do.
Life is purposeful struggle and your choice of a goal is up to you.
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“Action on the move creates its own route, creates to a very great extent the conditions under which it is to be fulfilled, and thus baffles all calculation.” —Henri Bergson
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How can you accelerate your passion, purpose, and talents? That’s our focus.
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Ken West is the author of Get What You Want, republished as Achieve Your Purpose.
