Robert Ringer: A Warrior Lives by Acting

Make a difference, act now. Self development Robert Ringer explains

There are two basic kinds of actions. One is proaction, which puts you on the offensive and, all other things being equal, gives you a great deal of control over events. The other is reaction, which puts you on the defensive and relegates you to an inherent position of weakness.

An interesting way of looking at inaction is that it’s really just a negative form of action — a sort of black hole of action that sucks energy away from you much the same as the black holes of the universe pull matter into the deep recesses of their cosmic bowels. This is why inaction often yields consequences by default. If you wait for something, or someone, to act on you, you likely will be unable to control the consequences.

Homeostasis, a trait that all human beings possess to one extent or another, is (in psychological terms) the tendency to live with existing conditions and avoid change. Which is ironic, because resistance to change defies both the laws of nature and the laws of the universe.

The earth, the universe, and life itself are in a perpetual state of change, and so, too, is secular life. Weather changes, laws change, the economy changes, the reins of power change, technology changes, and, perhaps most significant of all, your age changes every second of your life. In addition, with the generation and dying of cells in our bodies, each of us is in a constant state of change physiologically, from birth to death.

Homeostasis is the ultimate defense against taking action, which is why most people stubbornly resist change, particularly major change. Outwardly, of course, we fabricate excuses that attempt to justify why we aren’t able to take action just yet, the most common one being that “the time is not quite right.”

Through the years, my own experience has convinced me that the time is never “right.” There’s always something that’s in the way of taking action. If you’re looking for excuses not to take action, you don’t have to go very far, because life is fraught with so-called problems — and they follow us wherever we go.

The truth is that, with few exceptions, the best day to take action is today. You can make a sales call today. You can start working on that important project today. You can start preparing to move to the city of your choice today. You can begin to pick up the pieces and start a new life today.

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