Nov 04 in Philosophy
Written by: Heather Rast
Some people like to talk, to lament and bemoan. They have all the answers, if only everybody else were half as smart.
Others are OK with talking but really itch to just go out and do. Give things a whirl and see what happens.
People often talk about doing one thing, but by circumstance or choice in fact do another. It’s been said that “talk is cheap,” a phrase that implies the real payoff (proof) is in the action. Like the ones you make as an anxiety-ridden business owner, aspiring professional, enterprising ‘preneur or tired parent.
Actions have consequences, actions yield results. Actions are choices – decisions – that can commit, polarize, inspire, or even spawn the unknown. When you decide to do something and you move on it, there may be inherent risks. Like the potential loss of time, resources, revenues. Or the cost of missed opportunity or strategic misfire. In effect, by doing something you’re casting your vote or laying your lot with that solution, that path, that choice. The long-term payoff had better be there on the other side, or you could have worse than egg on your face.
So it would seem that what you do is at least twice as important as what you say. Words can be recanted or obfusicated when convenient (different from true remorse). Courage and vision can tip the scale from talking about a problem to discovering an answer.
The difference lies between…
- reading a blog (passive) and discussing a topic with your community (exploring alternatives and perspectives)
- buying a business book (you’re part of the buzz) and excitedly consuming a business book (you’re part of the future solution)
- talking about the election or candidates (it’s easy to gripe) and exercising your right to choose by voting (making your voice heard)
- texting your friend your sympathies (courteous motions) and carting her a Crock-pot full of chicken soup and staying to clean up the dishes (selfless giving)
- claiming open leadership (big floofy words) and actually learning something about your own insecurities and human behavior (letting go to empower others)
Your decision to act could potentially start an entire movement. It’s a huge responsibility, one that compels you to take what you
know and how you feel, what you’ve learned through your life experiences or saw on the street and do something more than tuck it away in the recesses of your brain with the notion that “one day…”
So are you gonna sit over there, talking about coulda-woulda-shoulda? Or will you stick your neck out, possibly take a few lumps, and get stuff done? One’s about having a life, the other about living a life.
<grin> I’ll catch you fly cats later. Right now I know a tall building that needs scaling. </grin>
“The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it.” –John Ruskin
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3 Comments for: Push hard or go home: why you should talk less, do more
The flip side of that, though, is that talking can help prepare us for action. We turn thoughts over in our minds, bounce ideas off others… obviously the danger lies in not knowing when to stop talking and start acting, but I’d argue that acting too soon can hurt too!
I’m glad you took a look at the alternative – leaping without looking. I’m not advocating a full-bore, tunnel vision-type run so much as making a conscious decision to break the paralysis that customarily keeps us observing – or worse, moaning – and never doing. In different areas of my life at different times I’ve been as guilty about that as anyone, but with just one life to lead, wouldn’t it be a damn shame to be a victim of inertia or succumb to circumstance?
There’s significant difference between acting irresponsibly and taking an informed risk. I think the former are often made by those with little regard for others while the latter may be made by those comfortable with quickly assessing options, amassing some input/data, checking in with their instincts and hitting the giant GO! button.
I was once heavily criticized by a well-educated, accomplished woman who thought I was impetuous and didn’t think through my work to reasonably foresee outcomes. Did I know what could happen? Would I be able to cope with the results? She didn’t understand that there is more than one path in decision-making, that others may be less systematic than she but nonetheless thorough. I, in turn, couldn’t abide her way of looking at everything 9 ways from Sunday – twice – and then talking and talking and talking about it. It felt to me like opportunity passed us by due to our fear or inability to define a reasonable jumping-off point into action.
Christa M. Miller
Twitter: christammiller
Reply:
November 4th, 2010 at 11:13 am
Haha! I’m a “talker,” in case you weren’t sure.
I’ve been roundly criticized also for “failure to launch” (actual words from a friend!) but in truth, only recently have I felt like I knew enough, was grounded enough, to start taking action. At the same time, though, I may never have done so without the encouragement — and the lesson that I really have only myself to rely on (I had made the mistake of focusing too much on “collaboration” and waiting around for the “perfect partner”).
BTW, I did take an enormous risk in self-employing two years ago. It felt like the right time, and while I sometimes wonder if I spent too long on a learning curve… I also think I needed every bit of that time. So I can see both sides, if that makes sense!
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