12 Feb 2018 Should I Take Immediate Action?

Should I Take Immediate Action?

A common thing in many self-help programs is the push for you to take action on your goals. Taking action in my opinion is the one single differentiation between those who get to their goals and those who don’t. Is there a case where no action is better? No action may not be the best term, doing nothing is an actionable choice. However, if you have not done any planning and just start doing something to get moving towards your goal, you may stumble more than needed. I understand that stumbling gives you lessons learn on your quest but at a cost of time.

There is a saying, plans are useless, but planning is invaluable.  Nothing ever goes according to a plan. Take a little time to come up with some basic guidelines, maybe some what if analysis. When I say a little time I understand it is very subjective. One person’s little time maybe another person’s comprehensive review, as Simon Sinek says, start with your why.

At some point you do have to take actionable steps. I do differentiate between action and planning. Yes, it may be a semantic difference, however it is how I view it. There is many a time when no action may prevent you from making a rush decision. This is true even in critical situations. Back in my youth I flew tactical jets in the US Navy. I was given some advice that I found very helpful. I was told that some emergency situations may require a timed response vice immediate action. For example, we had a clock on the instrument panel. One instructor once said, if you get a fire light indicator he recommended that you first wind the clock. It may sound a bit counter- intuitive. If there is a fire light, usually it means that something is very wrong. However, if you immediately take some actions it could lead to bigger problems.

He said, if you wind the clock a couple of times and take a deep breath, you will find that you can manage the emergency much better. I know this is an extreme example, but my point is don’t just take unplanned actions. In your pursuit of your goals, find your clock to wind when necessary, do some rudimentary planning. Then take a path less traveled or more traveled but take a path.