Start Acting

Start Acting

In my previous articles, I’ve written a lot about the importance of Thinking Ahead, Setting Goals, and Planning—and these are all absolutely crucial factors for anyone who hopes to become a success.  But as important as it is to Think Ahead, Set Goals, and Plan, there is a catch.  It is very possible to become so fixed upon planning your future that you never take the steps needed to make it a reality.  That is why one of the keys to success is to Start Acting.

Now, before I go any further, I want to again stress that planning is essential.  There is no way to become successful without carefully and thoroughly considering where you are now, where you would like to later be, and how you may go about crossing that distance.  However, you must not become so engrossed in planning so as to never make your vision a reality.  There always comes a moment when the time for planning is past and the time for action has arrived.  Now, this does not mean that you should cease all planning once you reach this point.  Not at all.  But it does mean that you should Start Acting in addition to planning.  If you do not, then your planning cannot accomplish anything.  It cannot help you to achieve your goals if you fail to act when the time comes.

Of course, it can be very difficult to identify that moment, to know when you are ready to finally begin putting your plans into practice.  The key is to always ask yourself why you are waiting.  Why aren’t you taking steps right now, this very moment?  At first, it may be because you have yet to do the appropriate research and so do not know exactly what steps to take.  But then, after you’ve done the research, why aren’t you acting?  Perhaps you are still saving up money, or are waiting for you child to leave for college.

These can all be reasonable explanations as to why you have yet to act.  However, the problem is that you can always come up with a reason as to why you have not acted yet.  The trick, then, is being self-aware enough to discern whether your reason is legitimate or if it is just an excuse.  Are you really not prepared to act yet, or are you just delaying acting because you are afraid that you won’t be successful, or you don’t want to take on the responsibilities involved, or some other, similar reason?

When you realize that you have no legitimate reason not to be act yet, then it is time to do so.  You’ve done the research, you’ve made the plans, you know what you must do.  So do it.  Take that first step.  Your plans and goals will never come to fruition if you keep delaying.  In order to begin your journey towards success, you must acknowledge when the time for planning is past and the time for Acting is here.