“To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Why is this statement by Goette true? Or is it only true some of the time?
Perhaps he got it backwards. Perhaps we always act in accordance with our thinking.
Perhaps the problem is that what we do (how we act) is what we think about (want) the most.
The problem isn’t in the doing, the problem is in the wanting.
We are programmed to succeed and we succeed in life every day. Everyday we do what we have to do and what we want to do.
Sometimes we even do what we should do.
So how do we shift the paradigm?
First, understand.
Understand who you are and how you are wired.
Understand that unless you take radical measures to force yourself to do something, you probably won’t do it. (not for very long at least)
Understand that you have to want to take that particular action more than you want to do anything else.
This is difficult.
This is a battle of wills.
And you have to do it!
You have to take action, again and again and again, until your mind (your thoughts) changes.
You have to act until you’ve won the battle of wills.
Goethe was right
It is supremely difficult to do what you know you should do, what you don’t want to do.
Taking action is a battle! Don’t pull any punches. Take the fight to the enemy. And win!
Photo by Henry Hustava on Unsplash
