Thought vs. Action

Increasingly I have noticed that the primary impediment to action is the thought of action. I constantly think about what I will do, how it should be done, and what will be done after. I come up with plans and processes for the action. This mental activity unnecessarily delays my course of action: I am mentally deliberating instead of doing.

One example is in writing this very post: I was thinking of what to write and how to write it, and so nothing was written.

To break this writer’s block, I simply started writing – I took the first step. How should I know what the second sentence will be until I have written the first? Upon taking the first step, the second will be known. This is the subtle truth of action.

Plotting and planning is unnecessary. We may derive some sense of comfort from our forecast, but it never exactly matches reality. If we spend time thinking instead of doing, it may never get done. You cannot know the next step until you have taken this one because the next step is relative to this one – action must be taken one step at a time.

When you are paralyzed in mental deliberation, you must break the cycle. Stop thinking right now and make your move, initiate the course of action and follow wherever it leads. If you remain present and engage in each step with full consciousness, the next step will come naturally.