Hey, good to see you again. Sit back, kick your shoes off and enjoy the story.

A client of mine, who is a self employed craftsman, and I were talking the other day. She‘s been facing some professional challenges the last few months and was feeling pretty overwhelmed by the situation. Admittedly, these times can be trying for many and it’s often difficult to decide how to go ahead. I listened to her for some time while she vented her concerns and fears; not saying much but letting her unpack her troubles and lay them on the table, so to speak. And it did indeed sound challenging and being self-employed myself, I could certainly understand how serious the situation was for her.  She sorted her issues out and immediately began asking herself empowering questions and searching for answers  She talked about the importance of a positive attitude and solution orientation. She analyzed her situation with  clarity and reminded herself of the positive aspects. She was obviously intent on focusing on a constructive approach.

After she had finished organizing and presenting her thoughts, I asked her what she was doing to change her situation. She began to list a number of things she thought she probably should do and few things she planned to do, and then several things she thought she’d like to do  (she’d obviously been giving it thought), but she couldn’t tell me what she had done or what she was doing.

And this was because she hadn’t done anything yet.

True, it was impressive to see how she coached herself through the situation and how and she had studied the theory of empowerment – but she hadn’t done anything; she hadn’t made any decisions; not any real decisions. Not the kind of decisions that are backed up by action. By any action, for that matter.

A decision without action is always just a statement about a situation you’d prefer to the one you have now.

Thinking you should have more contact to your customers, or you need to improve your French (or English :-)), or you’re planning to become more self-confident (or decisive) will initiate no change. You’ve got to back your decision up with action.

You’ve got to do what you know. Study your options, naturally – but then do something. And don’t study forever, either. Because even if you don’t get the result you wanted, you can always change what you’re doing, but at least you’re moving.

Theory alone isn’t sufficient. Think about it – if the car you’re driving is headed for a brick wall, then just knowing that you can turn the car with the steering wheel doesn’t help you at all – unless, of course, you grab the steering wheel and turn. Knowledge itself is useless, unless you apply it – and there are times where you’ll be flat as a pancake if you don’t.

As Theodore Roosevelt always liked to say, ‘In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing..’

Doing nothing is like planning to go to Rome but standing still, even though you know you’re not in Rome. Anyplace is a better bet than where you are when you know you’re not where you want to be. Standing still and debating where to go is definitely not getting you anywhere, let alone to Rome. It’s like taking a standardized multiple-choice test; the smartest thing to do is to pencil in the right answer, and the second smartest thing is to pencil in any answer, but the dumbest thing is to pencil in nothing.

So, think about it. Are you making any real decisions right now? Are you steering your car, walking ahead and answering all the questions in your multiple-choice?

Happy doing,
Lisa

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