My mother used to say this to me all the time. I guess I began the thinking process very early. I would ask why quite a
Taking Action in the Present Moment
bit …and not just because I was two. I still ask but sometimes, I just need to stop analyzing the whole thing and start to take action. Many of us think a situation to death, we also plan something to death and then we talk about it to death. All the time we are ineffective in achieving the results we want.
With our current work environment here in the United States, we need to keep some basic thoughts in mind about the nature of the United States and how best to work inside it.
- It is an action-oriented country. After awhile, the colonists dumped the tea and started a war and changed the world as we know it.
- It loves work and expects its residents to love it too. Whether you believe you work for yourself or others, you always work for yourself. Freelancing and pioneers are loved in this country. Renegade geniuses continue to create and invent new products and methods. Even President Putin of Russia says he admires America’s ability to be creative.
- It’s indulgent. It’s a number 5 life path country and indulges itself. Lots of sex, drugs, rock and roll and chastity. The more extreme the better while it tries to balance itself. It will always try to balance itself…the nature of the 5. More food channels, more celebrity stuff, more sports teams.
- It will always honor the laws–or try too. It respects them and wants very much to try to stay in with the law. Law enforcement is big and exposure will always be there to try and keep the number 5 in check.
- It’s job is to be a catalyst! It job is to shake things up. Change, change, change….or be changed! Develop a keen ability to create constructive change.
- It respects the individual’s role in society. Where else in the world can you find this…and don’t say Sweden, France and Germany. Try to file bankruptcy in these countries and you will see how they look upon the rights of the individual. America’s role is the catalyst for the rise in world individualism.
- It believes in fun. It works hard, plays hard and goes to extreme on both sides.
- It is smart! It can morph itself into a new entity. It has transformational qualities. It is a hybrid with brains coming from all over the globe to enrich it and themselves. It is adaptable and just like any species, it survives by adapting.
Many of us seem helpless in the face of the robots that take more and more of our jobs (and they are..robots do it quicker, safer and don’t require pensions or health insurance). One of the nicest things you can do for yourself is to adapt and take action, even if you think it might be wrong. Step out into the stream of life and utilize. Once in the stream, you will find other opportunities you never dreamed of. Not all of us has to go the “uber” driver thinking. There are many needs in this society. Find the opportunities and monetize yourself as you do. Utilize–don’t analyze!
JW, for me it’s “both/and,” not “either/or.” There is no thing any of us does, right or otherwise, that is absolutely individual. Every action has an impact on ourselves and others. I regard support and encouragement as something deeper than surface gratification. The former I experience organically by doing acts of service (“right” action), the latter is an effort of self-promotion (“some other motive”). Further, this does not mean anybody in the community must explicitly acknowledge my action, though sometimes they will. Either way, as you say, it’s the intuition of having done right that matters. Thanks for the opportunity to reflect on this some more.
Stephen, I’m curious why a community that supports and encourages you is all that important? We have to act for one reason and one reason only – because it feels right to US (and hopefully it does, because it is a “right” action). Whenever we act looking for some other gratification or out of some other motive, we are quickly disappointed.
The challenge is in combining the individual in the collective, or the group. It is always good to hear from you Stephen.
There is virtue in the “ready, fire, aim” approach, for certain. The paradox of strong individualism is when you are supported and encouraged by a community that honors your efforts. Also, I like the perspective on the number 5 in this post. Thanks and peace.