"Action trumps everything."
I really love this quote because it is so simple and true. Action is the answer...period. Action is the deliberate effort to do something. In my mind "something" is moving toward my goals.
Whenever the new year comes around people often make resolutions to change something in their lives. I've even heard them called "bucket lists" recently. This name implies something to do before we "kick the bucket." I hate that! While I agree that we are perishable items on this earth, our goals ought not be simply a check box before we die. Think about the effort it took to overcome a fear and make the effort to do something. Really think back. That first jump you launched yourself off with your bicycle. The first time you mustered the courage to ask that special girl to prom. The first job interview you walked into. These all took courage and were building steps to the people we are today. Building, not bucket. We are building foundations for ourselves.
Life is about finding ourselves and becoming everything we imagined we could be. Ever heard the phrase, "Happiness is a journey, not a destination"? The journey begins with a single step and continues throughout our entire lives. All too often people think that they must suffer in the years spent working so they can reach retirement, but when they reach retirement years they only relax and wind down. I disagree. I believe the entire journey from beginning to end is a building process. It is the moments that should be enjoyed and celebrated, not ignored in pursuit of the next phase.
Now apply that to failure. Failure is a moment in the journey of a lifetime. Failure is merely a bent nail in the foundations we are building for ourselves. It can become as significant to the final project as we allow it to be. What does this have to do with action? Everything. Action trumps everything. Failure causes us to stop dead in our tracks. It forces us to reconsider the structure of the foundation. It not only makes us halt but it convinces us to look back with worry. Has it all been a sham? Where do we go from here? Therein lies the choice. The two options are to give up building the foundation or push ahead. Action. Action trumps everything. The latter is the key because life is a journey and failure is merely a checkpoint to re-evaluate, it does not compromise the integrity of the foundation.
There are countless successful and influential people who have literally changed their own lives, and the lives of many who follow them. I love the imagery of a serene pond or lake with a glassy surface. It is as if the water is asleep waiting for something. Then a small pebble pierces its surface and the ripples radiate from the center in exponentially larger rings. What one thing initiated the response? Action.
Failure has stopped us all in our tracks -- some longer than others. The next time it happens muster the courage, take a single step and imagine the ripples radiating from that move. We all have the right to pursue happiness while we build the foundation of a lifetime. The pursuit of happiness requires action to keep moving. Action trumps everything.
