500 Words a Week - Don’t Delay Action

“Any action is often better than no action, especially if you have been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long time. If it is a mistake, at least you learn something, in which case it’s no longer a mistake. If you remain stuck, you learn nothing.” - Eckhart Tolle

The above is a quote I shared during the week that stood out to me. However, there is an aspect that the quote doesn’t fully describe. Upon reading the above, I think we get the sense that this action Tolle describes must be big, life changing almost. This is something I think we get wrong. Constantly thinking that in order for us to change our life we must make big drastic actions that change everything.

In reality, what really matters or makes a difference in our life is the little things we do day to day. Here we find easily implemented actions that we can look to start doing right now that will bring us more joy and more peace.

Maybe we feel a little unhappy and a little stuck. Well what’s the smallest action we can do that might aid with how we are feeling? This action could be as small as just looking at alternative career paths if we are stuck. Or reaching out to people who we admire to seek guidance from. We don’t have to make grand actions. If we are feeling unhappy, maybe it’s sitting down and listing what it is we think is making us feel this way. Then looking at what brings us joy, and can we start to do a little bit more of the things that bring us joy, and a little bit less of the things that rid us of energy and leave us feeling deflated.

When we place action on a pedestal, and view it as some big life changing action we must take, we hide from it or delay it. It seems daunting to us so we avoid it. Any change is scary, and the bigger and more looming we make change seem the scarier it looks to us. Yet we still have that little voice in the back of our mind describing how we know everything isn’t ok, that something needs to change. The reality is that the first step toward change will be a small one. Even just recognizing that something needs to change in our life is a step toward a better life we want to live. Once we make the first step, we see we are more inclined to make another and another. Soon we are on the path to change, on the path to action.

We mustn't be afraid of action. We mustn't view action as something that needs to be big and life altering. We view it as what’s the smallest thing I could do today that would align my life better with the one I want to live.