Why Taking Action is the Only Winning Strategy

Before the age of 21, I was a complete wreck.

I was in University at the time, studying for the fancy-schmancy degree of Electrical Engineering. On paper, I might have looked like a model student, always hitting the books and grinding for that 4.0 GPA.

When people asked about my degree, I’d tell them it was amazing and that I was having fun! But the truth was, I was a master procrastinator, seething with anxiety.

I used to play video games until 2 AM.

When exams were coming up, I couldn’t help but take a 20-minute YouTube break for every 30 minutes of studying.

It was an odd conflict in my own head. On the one hand, I loved the idea of learning and designing and creating — all of the wonderful things involved in studying engineering. Yet, on the other hand, if you really broke down how much time I spent on it versus the time I spent procrastinating, it wouldn’t have looked like I was putting in as much effort as I should have been.

Stuck in Your Own Head

Anxiety and the procrastination that comes with it is a byproduct of being stuck in your own head.

Thinking a lot about your decisions and actions in your head before making them is usually considered a positive thing. But for people who have a lot of anxiety, the cause of the anxiety is often that they’re doing too much thinking.

When you think, although you may be generating new ideas, nothing in the real world is actually happening. There’s no creation, no real production, no tangible value. It’s just thoughts, thoughts which don’t actually exist in the real world. You’re not making any forward progress.

Thoughts only become valuable when actions follow them. When actions are backed up with a well thought out plan, the execution of the actions is much better. But until you take those actions, nothing has actually been done.

“I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.”

— Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant is famously known for not stopping training until he hits 400 shots every single day. He doesn’t show up at the practice court and think damn, 400 shots… He just walks in, warms up a bit, and starts shooting. He’s done when he’s made 400 shots and not a second before. That automatic action was the key to his insane skills.

Automatic Action

Action is what creates value and moves you forward in the real world.

When you take action, any action, it will always move you forward in some positive way. If the action is a mistake, then you learn from it. If it’s a good move, then you’re one step closer to achieving your goals.

“I haven’t failed — I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

— Thomas Edison

Everything changed for me after I turned 21 when I started taking automatic action. Homework to do? I worked on it as soon as I got home. No if’s, and’s, or but’s — I just did it. Alarm ringing at 5 AM for the gym? I’d get out of bed, get dressed, drink water, and head over to LA Fitness. I might’ve been tired but I was never thinking about being tired. I just went through the motions I’d trained myself to go through.

Today, I wake up each morning, make a cup of decaf English Breakfast tea, and start writing an article. I’ve pre-planned the title and topic the weekend before to smooth the ride a bit, but that’s all the prep I’ve done. I take automatic action and just start writing. I don’t stop until the article draft is finished.

There are people that have mastered automatic action even more than I have. Ayodeji Awosika writes 5000 words a day. Darius Foroux wrote an entire book in 22 days. Big goals only become possible once you start actually working towards them — once you start taking real, tangible actions.

Automatic actions have sparked more joy and creativity and productivity than any other change in my life.

When I did that homework right away, I got the load off my back — I could do whatever I wanted afterward, and it felt good to succeed. When I finished my workout, I felt like an absolute boss with supreme confidence as I got through that tough challenge. As for the writing, each article I write is published and made public — it’s a real-world, tangible win that I can look to for inspiration to keep going.

Even more beautiful is that, once you’ve been taking automatic action for some time, your momentum starts to build. You’re thinking less and less and getting used to taking more and more action. That action creates learning experiences and real results — those are totally addictive.

Taking action will make you feel alive. When you think, you’re in your own head. It’s nice to fantasize, but it’s not real. Only action is engaged with the real world. Nothing will be created until you get your hands dirty. Action is the only thing that connects you to the world and delivers true value.

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