Have you ever thought about what actually causes us to take action? And why is it that sometimes (or maybe many times…) we don’t take action even when we fully know doing it would be worth it?
I’ve been struggling and wrestling with taking (and not taking) action the past couple weeks (or months…). I haven’t been able to figure out this one problem…
Going on a long weekend trip down to Crested Butte to ski was an idea I had towards the beginning of winter. “Yeah that’d be so fun” I thought. But now, it’s reached that time in the season where I would and could actually take that trip. Last week I thought, how about this weekend? But the issue was, it felt like a struggle to even think about planning. Every day of the week slipped by. I kept pushing off even thinking about it. Eventually it was Thursday, then Friday and I still had no course of action, no plan. “Maybe I just need to take this weekend as a break,” I thought. Was that just an excuse?
I really enjoy skiing. Every weekend I go, it’s a blast. I know it’ll be worth it, so why is it so hard to commit?
This struggle has me so confused. Why can’t I take action on things that I know will be worth it in the end? Is it the mental strain of planning? Lack of discipline? Lack of interest? Just procrastination? No motivation?
Sometimes it helps to just turn my brain off and not overthink it, but honestly that doesn’t always work. That being said, I’ve been trying to lean into this for other parts of my life, like finding and developing my interests, passions, and hobbies. I’m trying to give myself more space for things to happen naturally, to not force myself into flow. My latest theory has been a spin of “going faster by slowing down.” If I spent more time and focus on recharging thoughtfully, my focus time, sprints, deep work, etc. might be more effective.
I’d love to think sitting on the couch scrolling social media and YouTube counts as “recharging,” but I think I’d be kidding myself… Getting out in nature is waaaaay more effective.
For now the struggle with action continues. I’ll try to jump on those little spurts of motivation more.