Yes, Learn & Plan, but Please Don't Forget to Act!

byMimiE0901

189 followers

Updated 9 years ago

I have an abundance of ideas, but a scarcity of ones that have come to fruition. Why?

During a webinar I attended yesterday I learned that focusing too much on the how it's going to happen instead of why I need to make it happen is a large part of the problem.

It usually goes a little something like this:

I think it would be a great idea to...

BUT, I don't know enough about... Let me do some research...

(Insert name of friend or family) wants to know how I'm going to do all this because of (a million and one obstacles I might not have thought of yet)

Doubt, worry, and fear send me into paralysis. Motivation is gone and the idea falls by the wayside or dies.

Sound familiar?

The way things should go:

I think it would be a great idea to...

I have to make this happen because... (List all the benefits that would come to you, your family and to the world if you make your idea come to life)

(Insert name of friend or family) wants to know how I'm going to do all this because of (a million and one obstacles I might not have thought of yet)

I thank them for the insight, put together my plan of action, adjusting for whatever obstacles, and I implement my plan.

Another part of the problem is spending so much time on learning and planning, that I never get around to doing, For me, this stems for a long battle that I have been fighting with perfectionism. I have to remind myself that experience really is the best teacher and that it is okay to make mistakes.

Let's be clear, I'm not saying that you shouldn't learn and you shouldn't plan. You have to do both. I'm just saying, don't forget to act. If you don't complete your action steps, what was the purpose of the learning and the planning?

My challenge to everyone (self included) exactly what you want to do, why you have to make this dream happen, set a plan of action on how you're going to make this dream happen (with finish line dates, milestone tracking, and plans for working around known obstacles), and get to work on making it happen.