Enough Thinking. Do The Work

Think of life like a book with many chapters.

Each chapter is filled with new experiences, activities, responsibilities and new settings, and new challenges. What you do in each chapter determines how your story ends.

What do you have to show for your past chapters? Did you take enough action? Did you act on your goals?

Your actions are the decisions you make at a specific moment in time that will determine how the rest of your story unfolds. You are literally writing your life story every day.

You have two choices: think and stare at a blank space all day or take important and intentional actions to change the trajectory of your life.

Most people are good at the first part: thinking. But then they overthink and do less. Life unfolds without their deliberate inputs.

They rarely influence the outputs in their lives. There are many reasons why people shy away from taking action and making changes in their lives, but only one of them matters: They don’t believe they can.

Those who believe they can’t take good action believe one of two things: 1.) There’s no way I can do that right now or 2.) Maybe someday, but not today.

Why do some people spend their time passively going through life rather than actively living it? Successful and highly productive people are good at both thinking and doing.

They build systems to make the process easier. There are many ways to take action in your life, but they all involve taking a stand and making choices.

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does,” William James once said.

Action creates impact. Impact changes lives.

Action involves thinking about what you want and then acting on it instead of passively watching life happen around you. It’s not easy to lead an intentional life, but it’s worth it.

Thinking is what human beings excel at. Thinking is an essential step in getting things done. Thinking designed the internet, built the pyramids, invented calculus and reached the moon.

But thinking alone without doing won’t get you where you need to be. There’s no point in having brilliant thoughts and plans if you don’t act on them because sooner or later, they will fade away and be forgotten.

Less thinking, more action is how you make progress

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” — Confucius

Thinking and taking action go together, especially if you want to do great work. But it can be really hard to move from thinking to doing.

In fact, thinking and doing often feel like two opposite ends of a spectrum — one passive and the other active.

Thoughts are something we can have on-demand; actions are something we must compel ourselves to perform.

But the trick is that thinking and doing aren’t opposites — they’re connected. Moving from thinking to doing isn’t about choosing between one or the other but integrating both actions together to achieve a goal effectively.

“Do the work” is a simple but powerful statement that will help you get over your fear of failure and take action toward the things that matter most to you.

Thinking is an integral part of any process, but it’s not always the most useful. If you find yourself stuck in a rut, thinking alone won’t get you out of it. You need to move from thinking to doing.

Thinking is what gets you started on whatever it is that you’re working on. Doing, however, is what accomplishes something.

When you are trying to get anything done and out of your brain, moving from thinking to doing helps immensely. It breaks up whatever mental blocks might be keeping you from being productive and allows you to take action where before there was none. If something is important to you, you will find a way — not an excuse — to make it happen.

“Action expresses priorities,” says Mahatma Gandhi.

The transition from thinking to doing can seem daunting because we are so used to old comfortable habits. If you often feel stuck or are unsure what to do next, focus on small actions — tiny actions matter to your progress. Make that a daily or weekly progress.

Amelia Earhart was right when she said, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”

Once you start taking small actions towards your goals, momentum will take over. Keep repeating good actions to make consistent progress.

Want to become a good writer? Do the work. Want to become the best in the world at what you do? Do the work, consistently. Want to lose weight? Do the work. Want to achieve anything worthwhile? Invest in the right action.

The shift from thinking to doing takes courage, but it’s worth it. When you are tempted to overthink, remember what David Joseph Schwartz said, “Action cures fear. Indecision, postponement, on the other hand, fertilize fear.”

This article originally appeared in Medium.