How Do You Do?

The Universe rewards action. Knowing your goal isn’t enough. Thinking about your goal isn’t enough. Wanting, desiring your goal isn’t enough. To reach your goal, you must act.

The Crow & the Pitcher

“In a spell of dry weather, when the Birds could find very little to drink, a thirsty Crow found a pitcher with a little water in it. But the pitcher was high and had a narrow neck, and no matter how he tried, the Crow could not reach the water. The poor thing felt as if he must die of thirst.

Then an idea came to him. Picking up some small pebbles, he dropped them into the pitcher one by one. With each pebble the water rose a little higher until at last it was near enough so he could drink.” [The Æsop For Children]

How Do You Do?

“The Universe rewards action.” OK, we get that . . . but what kind of action should you take? What’s the best way to begin? You know the importance of doing, but how do you do?

I write from time to time about the importance of Do-ing, of taking action. And I have urged you to create a “balance sheet” for a goal or objective you wanted to achieve. On that balance sheet, you write down all the things you could do to take action toward your objective.

But sometimes it can be difficult to know just what actions to take. Here are some guidelines.

Do Something

Do something. Do anything. It is better to do the “wrong” thing than to do nothing. Anything you do will lead you eventually to your goal.

Suppose you were standing in the end zone of a football field and you had a dart. And suppose you were looking at a target board in the end zone on the opposite end of the field. Suppose further that you wanted to throw the dart and hit the bull’s eye on the target.

If you wait till you have a good strong wind at your back and till you get special glasses that allow you to see the target better and till you read up on how to throw a dart and till you get the opinions of all your family and friends about the best way to throw it . . . you’ll be waiting a long time, maybe forever. Throw the damn dart!

It may go only 15 feet but now you get feedback from the Universe in the form of a course correction. Now you get to go stand where the dart fell and throw again. Each time you throw, you get to change positions based on where the dart falls. Can you see that eventually — maybe sooner than you think! — if you throw the dart enough times, you’ll hit the bull’s eye?

Do Many Things

Don’t get locked into thinking that you have to hit the target in one throw because of the “rules”. It’s your game . . . make up your own rules. If one thing doesn’t work, try something else. But be persistent — give each idea or action a chance to flourish before you give up on it.

Some actions will take longer than others and the feedback may sometimes be slower in coming. So don’t be too quick to give up on something. At the same time, don’t get locked in to thinking that is your only course of action.

Be ready to cut your losses, learn from the experience, and move on to something else.

Be Open To The Universe’s Feedback

Develop your intuitive abilities. As you see, not every action you take will lead you directly to the goal. (We sometimes call these actions “mistakes”.) But each action offers you a chance to learn more about the goal or about yourself. And you’ll keep getting that chance until you learn the lesson. Look and listen for the messages that are being sent to you.

It could be in a remark you heard someone say that you can’t seem to get out of your head. Maybe a fragment of a song or a poem or a thought comes to you when you first wake up. Maybe a certain book leaps out at you (well, not literally) from a shelf or you stumble upon a website. Or maybe you are led to read a certain scripture that sticks in your mind.

Any of these could be a note from the Universe. Walt Whitman said, “I find letters from God dropped in the street, and every one is signed by God’s name.” Keep your eyes and ears and heart open for them.

Actions

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been observing the actions various people have taken toward their own objectives and now I share these real-life examples with you. Perhaps they will help spark your own ideas for things you can do for yourself.

Someone who dreams of being a motivational speaker joined Toastmasters.

Someone who wants to make some major improvements in his life began working with a coach.

A couple of people who want to lose weight and improve their fitness levels joined a gym.

Someone who wants to grow his business developed a strategic plan and presented it to his staff.

A person who wants to get a handle on finances began working on a budget.

A person who wants to further her education signed up for classes.

A number of people who want to find jobs enrolled in the Employment Readiness program at United Ministries.

Start Today!

None of these people have hit the bull’s eye . . . yet. But each of them has taken a step that has moved them in the direction of their objective.

How about you? What is some thing you could do today that gets you started on the path to creating the life you want? Reading and thinking are necessary but reading and thinking by themselves are not enough. You must act. That is embracing the Excelerated Life™!


Taking Excelerated Action™ in pursuit of your goals is one step in creating your Excelerated Life™, a life of flourishing, of well-being, meaning, and purpose.

Read more about the Excelerated Life™.


Resources:

“The Crow & The Pitcher.” The Æsop For Children. Library Of Congress,,. Web. 15 February 2020.
http://www.read.gov/aesop/012.html


taking action

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.