To me, there are “talkers” and there are “doers”. Usually people aren’t both. I like to think of myself as a doer (at least, I do my best to be a doer). Whenever I get an idea that I’m excited about and I think is worth acting on, I try to learn as much about it as possible within the shortest amount of time that I can and then execute it to the best of my abilities. It’s silly, but sometimes I actually get frustrated with people who I perceive as talkers – people who I hear continue to talk about things that they want to do rather than actually making them happen. This especially frustrates me when I feel like the thing they talk about doing could make their life much better, such as improving their financial situation or health, but they just won’t do it.
I know that I’m this person at times as well, but I hope that people don’t generally have that thought about me. Sometimes, I let “paralysis by analysis” take over and I let myself get stuck in a rut rather than continuing to move forward. This usually happens because I feel like I don’t know how to do something well enough or I feel like I still don’t know all of the details and intricacies of the concept to do it as well as I’d like – the downside of being a perfectionist.
Set A Date
When I was in high school and college, I always felt like the goal setting activities we had to do were a waste of my time. However, now that I think about it, I’ve always used goals in some form or another and I now realize that those activities definitely weren’t a waste. I think it’s important to set dates for your goals so that you can measure your progress and have a sense of urgency as the date nears. You may fail if you set a date, but I guarantee you’ll be closer to reaching your goal by that date than you’d be if you hadn’t set it.
You want to increase your net worth by 20%? Set a date. You want to lose 15 pounds? Set a date. You want to start a blog? Set a date.
Setting the date can help you reach your goal, but what you do after you’ve reached that goal is just as equally important. There’s no use in increasing your net worth by 20% if you’re going to celebrate by going into debt and erasing that progress. There’s no use in losing those 15 pounds if you’re going to quit exercising and watching your consumption and you just gain all the weight back. There’s no use in starting a blog if you only post to it for a couple of months and then quit.
Share Your Passion With Others
One reason I thought to write this post is because I had a great conversation today with someone who is moving from the “talking stage” of an idea that he’s been passionate about for a while now to the “doing stage”. Not only does this make me happy because he’s my friend and I know it’s something that he’s been wanting to do, but it also motivates me to continue progressing and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Having conversations with others who are driven and want to do what they can to make a bigger impact with their lives always lights a fire underneath me and gives me motivation to be a doer.
I don’t think you have to make all your aspirations public. I think that you can find a single person or a small group of people who you know will encourage you to reach your goals on a consistent basis and will be happy to see you succeed. All it takes is one good conversation a week to keep you motivated.
Just Do It
If you’re not happy with where you are or feel like you don’t have a clear sense of direction, then do something today to get closer to your goal. No one’s going to do it for you and there’s never going to be a better time than now. The sooner you start doing something to reach your goals, the more time you have to refine the process, figure out what works for you, and be successful.
Of course, it’s much better to have a solid plan in place to make sure that you don’t screw something up really badly, but that’s why we can hire people such as coaches, teachers, trainers, and financial planners who have a much more in-depth knowledge and can help us eliminate some errors and mistakes that could prove to be very costly. But, they can’t help us if we’re not willing to set things in motion and help ourselves first.
If you want something bad enough, then you’ll quit making excuses and you’ll find a way to make it happen. No matter what. You don’t have to have a perfect idea about how to do something or have a perfect plan in place. You’ll make mistakes and learn along the way.
“I’m gonna tell you a secret about everyone else’s job. No one knows what they’re doing…Deep down everyone is just faking it until they figure it out. And you will too. Because you are awesome and everyone else sucks.” – April Ludgate
April & Andy: I’m going to tell you a secret about everyone else’s job
“I’m going to tell you a secret about everyone else’s job: No one knows what they’re doing. Deep down, everyone is just faking it until they figure it out. And you will, too, because you are awesome and everyone else sucks.”
Call me out if you ever witness me being a talker and not a doer.
