Doing vs. Taking Action

Taking The Busyness Out Of Business

“There is never anything to do, but always action to take”

– The Magician’s Way by William Whitecloud

I imagine that most of you, like me, are feeling the pressure of the holiday season. Parties to attend, gifts to get, plus ones to find, year-end projects to finish, and financials to wrap up. We are constantly being pushed to DO, and if we aren’t careful, we can let our to-do lists run our lives. I would argue that there is one action we could take today that would be more impactful and meaningful than everything on our to-do lists. So, what’s keeping us from taking meaningful action toward our goals and passions?

Here’s my running short list:

Perfection.

This is a tough one for me. I believe that details matter and go a long way in communicating that we care - we care about our clients, our craft, and the people in our lives. But PERFECT can be the enemy of GOOD; sometimes, we fear that WHAT we are doing or WHO we are becoming won’t be good enough. Spoiler alert: if you’ve worked hard on it and are happy with it – it is more than good enough. Send it! The right people will appreciate it.

Lack of Immediate Results?

I had an interesting conversation with a colleague last week, and he mentioned that ‘the effort wasn’t worth the reach.’ In other words, he was saying, WHY BOTHER if it only affects a limited audience? That is a valid point – except that WE NEVER KNOW OUR REACH OR IMPACT.

I just had another colleague tell me that something I had told him years ago significantly impacted a recent career move. I only vaguely remember that conversation from years ago. How many of these moments have we had without realizing it? Our job is to let our best and brightest selves shine and to communicate that to the world. What we do and say matters. It’s not up to us to know our impact or audience or to censor ourselves because we don’t believe it will make a difference.

Settling for Less

Sometimes, we are just settling. One of the toughest decisions we make is when we give up something good for something greater that doesn’t exist yet. We may not be thrilled about our current job, situation, or relationship, but at least it’s known, and we perceive that as the safe choice. As long as we hold onto the things that we have, we don’t have room for anything else. Only when we make space in our lives for possibility can we allow those things to show up.

So, what action can you take today?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Until then,