Easier Said Than Done

“I will not avoid the tasks of today and charge them to tomorrow for I know that tomorrow never comes. Let me act now even though my actions may not bring happiness or success, for it is better to act and fail than not to act and flounder. Happiness, in truth, may not be the fruit plucked by my action yet without action all fruit will die on the vine. I will act now. I will act now. I will act now. I will act now.” -Og Mandino

“Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life.” -Jerzy Gregorek

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” -Samuel Beckett

“Fall seven times. Stand up eight.” -Japanese Proverb

So many things, especially when it comes to advice, fall under the category of “easier said than done.” It’s because it’s true. It’s way easier to give advice than to act on advice. It’s way easier to hear advice–even if it’s incredible, amazing, earth-shattering, world-class, “if you do this, then you are guaranteed to get that” kind of advice–then it is to actually ACT upon that advice.

I totally get it. I do. And like all these blog posts, I’m always partially speaking to/admonishing myself when I write…But here’s the thing…if we do nothing, we get nothing. If we do something, we might get something. Might make an improvement. Might make things better for ourselves and others.

While it’s easier to do nothing and stay with the status quo, that doesn’t mean it’s the better choice.

Try this out…The next time you get some advice that rings true, see if you can take one small, tiny, infinitesimal step right after hearing that advice.

An example…you read some inspiring and practical advice about how to declutter your house. Before you move on from that advice, throw out ONE single item and resolve to do it again tomorrow. It’s a minor, insignificant win I know. But it’s a win nonetheless. It’s precious momentum. You can feel good that maybe for the first time in a long ass time, you didn’t just get advice and do nothing with it. It didn’t go in one ear, make you feel good, give you a quick dopamine hit, and then out the other. This time, you got the advice and then you actually did something with it.

Step by step. Drip by drip. Action by action. That’s the way, the only way, anything worthwhile gets done.