The Number One Lesson for Progress Took Me Years to Learn
Release date: 15 Oct 2024
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An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Action is the foundational key to all success - Pablo Picasso
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
These are just some of the quotes I found when searching for quotes by inspirational people on action.
The lesson is everywhere. Almost everyone that makes progress in anything realises that, the number one thing that takes them from zero to one is taking action.
This lesson has taken me years to learn. Even though I have heard it from many places across the years, it still took me years to learn. When I think about how I made the transition into tech for my career. Or how I went from never running at all to running my first half marathon.
What was it that got me started?
It wasn't watching a ton of videos on how people get into tech or how to start running. It wasn't thinking about wanting to get into tech or thinking about starting to run. It wasn't buying all of the fancy equipment either.
The number one thing was that I took action. From never running ever to finally being able to say "I went for a run today". That snowballed into running consistently. Making progress. And then one day I decided the distance I'm going to run today is a half marathon.
Taking action consistently compounds into something unimaginable over a long period of time.
I have been thinking about writing for so long now. I remember in 2022 having a conversation with my mum and telling her "I'm going to write books one day". But I never started until recently. It's been years.
Why didn't I start?
I had a bunch of self imposed limiting beliefs:
- You write books later on when you have more experience in "life".
- I can't write books right now, I don't know how to.
- What can I even write about right now?
- My writing is so bad.
Excuses on top of excuses. I have thought about writing for the past 2 years. What do I have to show for it? Nothing. Have I made any progress? None.
I have made more progress in my writing in the past month than in the past 2 years.
What changed?
I decided to take action.
I have gone from dreading the 3,000 words requirement for my university thesis 2 years ago to writing over 10,000 words in 15 days.
I took action and started writing despite all of my limiting beliefs. I still don't think I'm a good writer. But I am better than I was a month ago. Progress.
There have been times where I thought I had nothing to write today. I would start by writing exactly that and it would transform into something I couldn't fathom at the start.
Having bias to action is what makes that possible.
This doesn't apply to just starting something new either. It applies to everything that you have been doing and want to do.
Now that I have started writing, the only way to continue making progress is to write more. Stopping and saying I have started now I should congratulate myself and take a break is not something I want to do.
I want to improve. I want to write better.
For that I must have bias to action. Bias to writing more words each day and consistently.