don’t waste it
I don’t know about you, but I do far better when I am taking action.
There is no time for indecision, wallowing in self-pity, or worrying about all the what ifs.
We don’t have time to be stalled in excuses or disappointment with our lives or situations.
When instead, we could just take action on behalf of the life we want, action with whatever situation has been dealt to us.
We can look around and believe in the possibilities and show up to do our best.
Life is too damn short for anything else. Sometimes shockingly short. What a waste of precious time it is to fret and wallow and do nothing about it.
Harris III says worry is a misuse of our imaginations. He says, worry or wonder? You choose.
I am an overthinker and can easily fall into a limited mindset — maybe we all can — but I am doing a lot of work to practice building a growth mindset in myself instead.
I can get overwhelmed and start to forget about wonder and possibility, zoning in instead on worry and all the reasons things are bad or could go wrong.
Focusing on the challenges in a defeated perspective doesn’t get us anywhere. This will only amplify problems and make them seem bigger and more abundant in our lives. (More on that here and here.) Even just sitting in doubt and vacillation instead of action can sap you of valuable energy and joy. Why bring the drama?
Here are a few recent, true examples of wasted time in my own life:
Career indecision and stress and feelings of defeat.
Worrying about what people think of me. Especially specific people. Even people who have little-to-zero bearing on my life.
Waffling and fretting over birthday plans for next month, spending days unable to make up my mind. (I love birthdays!!!! What’s the sense in this? Just pick something, it’s going to be awesome!)
Now, please know: I am not trying to be unnecessarily harsh or pushy, and I’m not trying to say these challenges will never/should never happen to you or to me, and I’m not trying to say it isn’t normal and that they don’t also have a time and place for bringing us lessons and depth to our lives. We’re human beings. This is where we land sometimes. It’s just part of the experience, glory, and mess of being alive.
There is opportunity here.
I am trying my very best to grow through it instead of shutting down in the middle of it. We have a choice in the face of these obstacles. There is always a choice. My conditioning or anxiety (the lizard brain!) would have me shut down. Give up. It’s too much. Just find somewhere safe and comfortable, and don’t push it.
But this isn’t what I believe in. I believe in dreams. I believe in joy and wholeheartedness, belonging, adventures, and contribution, and a life well-lived in love and self-alignment and pursuit of all you hold most dear. I believe we can live a great story, and we have to keep going even — and especially! — in these slumps because our next greatest discovery could be just over the horizon.
So I do far better when I am taking action.
If you, like me, are constantly drawn to looking at the whole giant picture and freezing up because it’s all too much, and how will you ever figure it out??? — then join me, and figure out just one next step. That’s all we really need. That’s all we’re ever responsible for: the next step we are taking. Sometimes we’ll forget this, but it’s okay, and it’s an irrefutable fact we can always come home to.
We’ve got this. Action trumps inaction in consideration of choosing the lives we really want. Action is better than freezing and stalling and wallowing. Wonder is far more useful than worry. The possibilities are all around you, and your life is too damn short and unguaranteed to waste any precious time, potential, or joy.
What’s the worst that could happen??
Not to sound blasé or too much like a certain popular sports apparel brand… but just do it.
Thanks for doing this work with me. Lots of love.
