When it comes to hunting, the most important thing is to have good aim, the second most important is to have the gumption to pull the trigger. So it is in life.
As amazing as our capacity of reason is, we cannot accurately predict the future 100% of the time. While events of the future do occasionally cast their shadows on present, they invariably emerge out of the foggy east into clear view and it is then, that we as it was once put should “fire” because we see the “white’s of their eyes.”
There are many reasons why people don’t pull the trigger when they should. Here are just a few:
- Fear of failure
- Fear of success
- Perceived lack of information
- Habitual procrastination
- Self-sabotage
- Confusion
- Inattention or distraction
- and more…
Learning to pull the trigger is one of the most important skills a person can develop in his or her life. You must learn to seize the day or it’ll get away.
Unfortunately there is no other way to overcome the lethargy caused by all of the reasons above than to get out there and meet it face-to-face. You’ll likely make a few decisions you’ll regret later, but failing to make the decision in a timely manner is no better.
Gregory Hake 
Great points!!
LikeLike
Failing to make the decision in a timely manner is a decision itself. I think sometimes it is easy to get overwhelmed if you have some large task looming over you, but freezing up and doing nothing is probably the least helpful thing you can do in that situation, because all you do is give yourself less time, making the anxiety worse! The trick is to just start, and as that becomes habitual you can put the systems in place to better organize the way you best tackle a situation.
LikeLike
Thanks for the post! No time like the present.
LikeLike
I believe strongly that there is synchronicity and design woven throughout our lives. Often a decision to act comes into focus, though not always for obvious reasons. I suppose the point is to learn to discern what is in focus and what is appropriately in the background. That way we can perceive what is “in the crosshairs” and take action exactly when and where it is needed. For that matter, it is probably just as important to know when not to shoot and where not to aim. We don’t want to be ‘trigger happy’ either! Prompt, efficient action where action is warranted – this is a cornerstone of success.
LikeLike
I love this quote by Theodore Roosevelt, one of my favorite historical mentors. He embodied today’s subject.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Teddy Roosevelt is an excellent example of a life lived with fearlessness. He showed it in dealing with personal tragedy and the societal failings of that era. I love the courage that he showed in the face of it all. Whatever his critics wrote of him, they didn’t accuse him of timidity.
LikeLike
Those are a great list of reasons. If we aren’t perceptive to when the timing is right and willing to make the decision to move, we’ll miss the most exciting and amazing opportunities in our lives. As you mentioned, it’s better to act and make a few mistakes, than to not act at all.
LikeLike