That’s right. Don’t hold your horses. And don’t not put your cart before the horse.
If you want the bottom line up front, the message of this article is simple: avoid paralysis by analysis!
If you want to understand its relevance to today’s workplace and social environment, bear with me for 90 more seconds.
Gary Vaynerchuk recently emphasized the importance of content creation over content deliberation.
Mark Ford conveyed the notion of “ready, fire, aim.”
Kyle Crooke (that’s me) recently read an analogy in which a person can only see beyond his physical horizon when he steps forward and alters his field of vision.
What do all of these statements have in common?
They all reiterate the importance of taking action to jumpstart one’s journey, whether vocational, avocational, or personal.
The greatest idea, intention, or inclination holds zero impact on the world at large, or on another person at small, without action. Remember that concept from physics? Objects in motion stay in that state of motion, unless acted upon by an external force. Your ideas, intentions, and inclinations will remain intangible and inapplicable until the force of decisive, committed action overtakes you.
Lucky for you, this force of decisive, committed action is not an external force. It’s an internal force, and you can activate it by a simple shift in mindset. A shift from complacency, or excessive planning, or timidity, to a mindset grounded in persistence. In “seeing it through.” In aligning your behaviors with your vision.
Why is this simple notion of “paralysis by analysis” relevant to work and play of modern day?
Particularly in today’s world, technology has opened our eyes to more activities, opportunities, and other people than ever before. With these abundances comes decision-making, time allocation, and differing levels of personal engagement.
As we become overwhelmed by these abundances, we become susceptible to staying in our own heads. Contemplating the benefits and drawbacks of a particular task or endeavor, comparing those benefits and drawbacks to other opportunities, and expensing our time as if we had corporate credit cards that reimburse us.
Stop racking up your “time debt.” Keep that credit card in your pocket and pay directly with cash.
In other words, reorient your focus to direct levels of engagement, action, and real-time responsiveness. As you reorient your focus towards action, you will also initiate a feedback loop that provides you with insights and learnings that you can apply toward future action.
This feedback loop is part of your virtuous cycle of action. You can continue to refine and redirect your action as you realize its connection with tangible outcomes in the outside world.
Time is even more precious than money. Think seriously about the “time debt” that you’re racking up. Is it worth it?
You can’t put a price on time, but you can put a price on almost anything else. Let yourself pay in advance, with cash, by taking continued, committed action.
And at the very least, seek a better balance between your thoughts (in other words, your planning) and your action (in other words, your execution). With so many thoughts, and only so little time, action is the cornerstone that optimizes your impact in this world.
Decrease your “thoughts-to-time” ratio by filtering your thoughts, identifying the thoughts that lead to practical action, and focusing solely on those particular thoughts. By following this approach, you will gain more clarity, increase your focus, and realize more time to actualize the thoughts that will truly add value to you and to your surrounding environment.
As you continue to build your life, make sure to fix your cornerstone of action into your blueprint.
