Action. Thinking is good, but action is better.

I’ve been called a “thinker”. While they meant well that monicker also reveals one of my shortcomings. I often get stuck thinking about the actions I could take. But see when that happens, what gets done? NOTHING.

So … just start taking action. Those may be little steps in different areas of life: fitness, work, marriage, or your faith. But by all means, take some action.

I grabbed a book off my bookshelf last night, Action Trumps EVERYTHING. Here are 16 reasons behind action, just start taking action.

16 Reasons Action Trumps Thinking

  1. If you act, you will find out what works…
  2. …and what doesn’t.
  3. If you never act, you will never know if you are right or wrong. You may think you know, but you won’t be able to point to anything concrete to prove you are right.
  4. If you act, you will find out if you like it.
  5. …or you don’t.
  6. Acting leads to a market reaction, which could take you in another direction.
  7. As you act, you can find people to come along with you.
  8. As you act, you can find ways to do things faster, cheaper, better.
  9. If you act, you won’t spend the rest of your life going, “I wonder what would have happened if …“
  10. If all you do is think, you are less interesting as a person.
  11. If all you ever do is think about stuff, you can gain tons of theoretical knowledge, but none from the real world.
  12. …all you do is think.
  13. Action always leads to evidence.
  14. If you act, you know what is real.
  15. Talking to people is acting … at zero cost. You can learn an awful lot, and it usually doesn’t cost you a thing. (Just make sure you act on what you learn.)
  16. It seems the cost of doing more thought, before you pull the trigger, is zero. But there is a huge opportunity cost. While you are still thinking, somebody else could be stealing your market or the opportunity itself may end.

From Action Trumps Everything by Charles Kiefer and Leonard Schlesinger

Action - Where will you start

So enough thinking. Start taking action. Pick one thing that you can do today. And Just do it. Take some action. Then let the reaction from it guide your next step. Keep moving.

Image motion blur from themonnie