Almost half of Americans make 300 times more decisions than dollars in a year. Where did that come from?
It is estimated that the average human being makes 35,000 choices per day. Compare this to the fact that 40% of Americans make less than 35,000 dollars and you have that bold statement above.
Where is this going? Well since we make about 35,000 conscious decisions per diem, it’s no wonder we get hung up on some every now and then.
Why? We’re bored, we need a problem, and we blow things out of proportion. Our minds aren’t evolved for a comfortable world. We’re evolved for hunting, and surviving, so we see predators in our problems. They aren’t really there.
It’s not always an easy process but I find that when you have a plan, you make it, and you just go, things fall into place given a large amount of time. So much time is spent in deliberation, over-analysis, and a futile attempt to absorb every variable in an effort to dictate your outcomes to a T.
The thing is, you’re probably wrong. The odds are you missed something. The odds are, some stone was left unturned, some “t” left uncrossed, and some “i” left undotted. What then? What do we do if we can never have this perfection we so desperately desire, the control we continuously crave?
There might be one Robert Downey Jr. quote I love more than the famous “I am Iron Man.”
My intuition tells me he didn’t actually come up with this concept, but it was from him that I first heard it spoken. I’ve often found myself repeating this in my own head when I feel overwhelmed and don’t know what next steps I need to take. Whether on a project, writing an article, applying for a minimum wage job, creating a resume, digging a ditch, cleaning up your house… it’s all the same. Get out of your own way.
The Remedy
Get out of your own way. By taking action we are quieting the fear. We’re doing something and in this way it feels like we’re solving the problem.
Trust your conscience, be open to new ideas, and start the project. Most of the time, these things we fear aren’t even that complicated. We say we’re bad at math yet we take the simplest decisions in our minds, and we turn them into complex equations.
If you’ve done the work, then trust it, take the action, and just go. You’re gonna die one day and all of this will be gone. In a few generations, there will be no memory of this decision (even if it is huge).
The Philosopher versus the Motivator
While writing this, I am routinely stopped by the philosopher in me. I recognize that for many people this advice isn’t perfect. It may even lead them to take the wrong action. Sometimes the best action is no action. That’s why I want to make an appeal to intuition and motivation. Consider this my disclaimer;
“Do what your conscience commands you to, and in the long run, I say, in the long run, success will follow you precisely because you’d forgotten to look for it.”
– Viktor Frankl
If you’re still here after all that, thank you. I hope you can go do what it is you need to do today with the conscious thought that you don’t “need” to do anything. There is a choice to be made in the present. Seize your day, do the thing, be there, and get off the internet.
Best wishes, TCO