We are being told this same thing over and over. The internet is overflowing with blogs and content aiming to convey the exact same message. We have heard the phrase so many times that when it appears, we say “yea yeah, I know this already”. But in reality, we only understand its literal meaning, but not the idea behind it, and the impact that understanding this can have on our lives.
Do, act, get off your ass.
Only by doing something, you will achieve something.
By doing nothing, you will achieve nothing.
I am a lazy person, and rather sit back thinking about what I could do, rather than to actually go out and do it. But being self-employed, this unfortunately won’t get me very far. When I began selling tea, set up a tea ceremony classroom, started teaching and giving lectures about tea among various other freelance activities, I very soon realized that just thinking about what I should to, where to go or who to contact wasn’t going to get me very far, so I started looking for inspiration on how to activate my lazy self.
I found guides on how to improve my productivity, read books on entrepreneurship, sales, management, etc. but in the end, I still found myself doing everything that wasn’t going to lead to the collaborators and students I needed for my activities. I made a beautiful homepage, set myself up on every possible social network, spent a lot of time on selecting the teas for my store, and after a few months, I was still surprised that I hadn’t been selling much tea, nor wasn’t getting a lot of students for my classes. What I was in fact doing was painting the walls of my bedroom in the hope that someone on the outside would notice how beautiful it was.
Something had to be done, and the next step I took was to learn about setting goals. I made to do lists, set short-term goals, long-term goals, and began to take action little by little. The words on paper compelled me to get up and get out to actually do something, but this quickly started to feel as an obligation, rather than as a positive boost. Something was lacking, and it was Simon Sinek who helped me understand the importance of our beliefs. No matter how beautifully composed your to do lists are, or how large you have written your ultimate goals on the wall, if it doesn’t resonate with why you are doing it, you just won’t do it.
Setting goals can be a drive to get moving forward, but if it doesn’t stroke with the reason why we are doing what we are, interest is easily lost. For me, figuring out that the main reason why I do everything regarding tea and Japanese tradition is because it inspires me to live a simple and happy life, while it allows me to share with others what I have learned and feel passionate about, helped me attain a different mindset. Rather than pushing myself to send x emails to x existing and x new contacts, and to update my Facebook status x times a day, and so on and so on, in order to reach a goal of x total students in x years, I now began doing everything I felt was right, when it was right, because it was in line with my core belief. I actually started doing more because it was what I loved doing.
For some setting goals may work, for others clearly defining your beliefs may be more beneficial. Nevertheless, what I have learned is that we shouldn’t spend too much time on pondering on and polishing our goals or beliefs. Set a goal, write down your beliefs the way they appear to you now, and move on. Focusing on getting these things right for too long is impairing. In fact, even without having a goal written on your wall, or without a clear idea of your beliefs, it is far more important to get out and do what you love, rather than to spend hours at a desk trying to figure out why you are doing what you actually aren’t doing at all.
Get up, get out, do something and enjoy it. Make adjustments where necessary and move on. A clear view on the goals you want to achieve, or the core reason why you are doing what you are doing will become clear eventually. If you are doing what you feel is right, and resonates with who you are, then results will show. In the end, if you are doing what you love doing, people will recognize your passion and beliefs. Don’t forget to listen to them; because it is usually those persons that will tell you what you need to know about your own beliefs.
