Retrain the brain.
The real reason we generally don’t move forward in life with our insights, “Ah-ha’s”, epiphanies, ideas and inspirations is simple.
We fail to take action.
Act now, think later.
The more we think about something, the less likely we are to do it. Science explains this is because the more time we have to think about something, the more we come up with more and more reasons why that something won’t work, or it’s not practical, or it’s never worked in the past, so why even bother.
That default way of thinking is the functioning of our inner saboteur.
But there’s another one. Oftentimes, before we can even move one tiny step in the direction of our dreams ”“ call an agent, move to New York, take an acting class, ask someone out on a date ”“ we catastrophe-ize the worst case scenario outcomes.
I mean, they’re pretty bleak. And they do a good job paralyzing us from doing anything. Is it any wonder we even get out of bed in the morning?
Look, there’s a lot of catastrophe in life. For sure. I mean, if you think about it, we’re spinning around on a piece of rock in the middle of space, somewhere in an infinite universe, shared with as many as 500 billion other galaxies. That means a lot of shit can happen.
Not to mention here on earth, there are epic challenges facing us: global climate change, a burgeoning global refugee crisis, a planet already being taxed of its natural resources with a population 2 to 3 times higher than is sustainable. Donald Trump running for President.
These are catastrophe-making problems, people!
Your dreams are not. Stop dooming-and-glooming it when it comes to what you want to do with your life. If you can imagine it, there must be a way to achieve it. Stop telling yourself just because you want to be an actor that you might also be penniless, eating cat food from a tin can the rest of your life, and forever be a rent-a-clown (!) as your side job to pay the bills.
Couldn’t you just as well meet Tom Cruise, marry Tom Cruise (?) and be in a Tom Cruise blockbuster?
This week, take something you’ve been sitting around waiting to do for a long time. And do it. Simple. “But . . .” you might hear yourself say. So what? Do it in spite of your protests, worries, anxieties, complaints, fears, stall tactics, rationalizations, excuses and (incorrect) beliefs that it will be the apocalypse if you just pick up a phone, or write a script, or get on Tinder (well . . .), or follow up with that manager, or get some headshots, or put yourself out there in some new way.
The earth will still be turning with all its 7 billion man-made problems. What if you just decided for once, at least one of them can be solved. By moving forward. Yourself.