A few years ago I decided to become a Person of Action.
Not like "less seatbelts, more skydiving!" Just "less thinking, more doing."
I'm happy to report:
- Taking more actions has brought me way farther than I could have hoped.
- I no longer want to be a Person of anything
Start more things
More doing means more starting. For me the finishing always got in the way. I would always get in my head about the end result being perfect. It's hard to start something without having a finished idea in mind, and easy to get thwarted by the gap between the blank page and the platonic ideal in your head.
When I decided on less-thinking-more-starting, I accepted that things were unlikely to ever be exactly like I picured, and in fact that's a good thing. Sticking to an end result that's perfect in your head doesn't allow for much real feedback or serendipity.
Taking the Person out of Person of Action
Being a Person of Something means your identity is wrapped up in the actions you take. This can lead down an unhealthy path. If you do something out-of-character, or fall short, what does that say about you as a person? It's easy to see it as a personal failing... that you're somehow "less than" because you failed, rather than "more than" because you tried.
Being a Person of Action means that if you want to kick back and play Nintendo for a while, you're betraying your own identity. What kind of Person of Action plays Nintendo?? I'm not taking action and I feel guilty about it!!!
My inner monologue isn't quite this emphatic, but the guilt is still there!
When we separate our actions from our identity, we allow ourselves to take good risks and try things that might not feel like "us." Words matter. Making the switch from "I am a Person of Action" to "I will take some actions" took a weight off my shoulders and made it much easier to start things without fear of failure.
Take the person out of Person of Action, you're left with the action. Don't let yourself get in the way, and don't let the finishing get in the way of starting.
