I’m not kidding. And I probably could stop the blog right there. You get the message.

The key to learning. The key to success. The key to thriving. The key to physical and mental health. They key to life is action. Take action.

A random Sunday afternoon spent outside Doing Something.

You want to learn a new skill? Find a teacher. Read a book. Watch some YouTube. And then start practicing. You want to rise to the top of your organization? How many people do you know who climb the corporate ladder by sitting at the bottom staring at the rungs? You want to live a whole and fulfilling life? That life isn’t going to come find you on your couch in your PJs. You’ve got to go out and create it. With your hands!

Our educational system seems pretty passive. Sit in class. Listen quietly. Take good notes. The majority of our time is spent in receive mode. But that’s not really when the learning happens. The knowledge gets into our brain when we think deeply about the information and apply it in context. When we connect it to our lives. When we practice and measure and write and debate. When we do.

Our organizations seem pretty steady. Our managers expend great energy working to keep everyone else working toward the status quo. Managers. Leaders appear when change is needed. When fear of the unknown must be overcome. When something must be done. Leaders do.

Our lives seem pretty routine. We wake up. We work. We work-out. We eat. We watch TV. We sleep. Repeat. Look deeper. We struggle. We strive. We overcome. We laugh through tears. We love. The moments that mean the most are the moments we create. We rise. We turn the corner to a new life. We close a chapter of the old book. We do the things we need to do to be the people we want to become.

Do Something!

And don’t worry too much about what that something should be. Almost anything is better than nothing. And you’ll learn pretty quickly if that something you pick is working. Or if you should pick something different. Sitting and thinking and wondering and worrying will never teach you so much so quickly.

And once you’re on the road. You’re off! You’ve got momentum. And motivation to continue will come to you in spades. You tried. You didn’t die! That’s something. Try something else. Do more. Because you can! You’ve already proven you know how to do something.

References:

The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals With Soul (affiliate link) by Danielle Laporte

Getting There: A Book of Mentors by Gillian Zoe Segal

Mastery by Robert Greene

Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath

Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner