Do not think! 11 comments

30 Oct 2009 @ 10:15 There is so much to do! Have you ever felt like you are literally dizzy from all the things that demand your attention? But your day, as well as mine, usually consists of 24 hours, whether you like it or not. So, the smart thing to do according to most time management guru's is to learn how to utilize our precious resource called TIME. A falsehood, right there. How can we deal with a resource which does not even really exist?! But regardless of our enlightened philosophical view on this matter, the clock is ticking away for the world. Regardless of miraculous moments in the Power of Now, everything around you seem to assert that time exists, and if we don't move along, we are left behind. Time in this reality is agreed upon so strongly that it is almost unbendable. The sun comes up when it is set to come up in any given time of the year, and it relentlessly goes through its path in a couple of short hours and it ruthlessly sets. We measure these changes by a cruel creature called the clock. It is ticking, so we are reminded that time has passed. Of course there are really high creative spirited moments, when we break the spell, and we are outside of the time-world. There is no time – we are free to stretch out the moment, or speed it up, it is all up to us. But those moments of being the master of time are rare – mostly we sink into the commonly agreed structure and we hurry to the next meeting, or to catch the next deadline, always racing against time. So, lets get to the point of this article, which is not to tell you that we are doomed. There are wise ways to deal with things, even such a tough one as time. So, what do you do if you want to win this battle, and get something done but quick? Do not think. Yes, do not think! I mean don't beat your brains endlessly, in place of action. Rather, start to act, one way or another. Did you realize, that while you are thinking, the whole project or task just stands still, dead in the middle, nothing moves forward?! When you catch yourself thinking, figuring, puzzling and racking your brain over something, there is something wrong. You cannot decide - because you did not notice what is the real barrier to your decision and action. And if you don’t catch what is wrong or what is missing, soon the whole thinking becomes emotional, irrational, and you normally drop the whole thing altogether – or you force yourself by doing it anyway, despite your bad feelings, but on the long term that also stops you from moving forward. Can you remember a time when you had to think, think, think, like the little bear Winnie the Pooh, about something you wanted to do? And you just sat there, and could not decide? Could not act in any direction? So, what was missing? In those areas of life where you have to think and figure a lot, you almost always have missing data or missing knowledge. But it can be more than one way of missing data. If you’re already a master of that area, then it can be simply some piece of missing information, or lack of data to decide or step forward. The most tricky one is when you are already trained in an area - or you THINK you are -, but you still miss the know-how on some points – and you tend to overlook it, as you believe you already know it. It can be missing know-how, uncertainty of sequence, technique, judgement on importances, on the point where you hesitate. The simplest case is when you are really new in that area, you have not mastered it yet, then thinking means you have lack of knowledge, and you need to learn more – this is maybe the easiest to realize, if you are really honest to yourself. So what to do if you notice, that you stopped and started to think instead of acting, and can’t seem to step further or decide? Just quickly check which one it is: missing knowledge, or missing information? And you can act on it right away: whichever it is, just start gathering the data or find a way to learn the missing piece – and you are already moving forward. It can be as simple as looking into that pile of papers on your desk, pulling up the right file in your computer, checking the data on the internet, or asking a colleague. If you lack the know-how, you can find data on the net, find an expert to help you out, buy and read the right book, or go on a training to learn how to do it, or even enroll on a university or master training – whatever it is, you can identify it and start acting on it right away. Sometimes the help of a coach or trainer can make it much easier and quicker – finding someone who can assist you in overcoming the barrier is also an action you can do right away. Stop thinking, start acting - that’s the way to smite time, the ogre!

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