Monday, February 16, 2009

Research vs. Action

Today I noticed someone having a conversation about research on Twitter. I only read one comment, and don't know what the chat was all about. The comment itself triggered my thinking about research versus action and when is enough research enough?

Today, with our lifestyle at a nose-bleed pace, it's easy to jump onto a blog, forum or begin a venture without researching. You don't have to look far to find someone spouting their opinion, or quoting another person without having looked far enough to see if that "expert" truly does know what they are talking about. People jump without looking all the time these days.

So there is a need for research.

At what point, however, does research become a hindrance? When does it slow down progress or become an excuse for not moving forward? I know I often feel I need to know more before stepping forward, but now I look at some of the best decisions I've made. They were when I made a leap of faith and "just did it". (See my post from Feb. 13, "Leaping Intuitively"). I stepped forward without a plan, and decided I was going forward. Sometimes it was nerve-wracking, and I wondered if my confidence was unfounded. Certainly in every case, I learned a lot more about myself, and about the laws of the universe. You have to be Rip van Winkle or hiding in a cave for the past 5 years to not have heard about the Laws of Abundance, and The Secret. Used properly, those laws WORK.

I guess what I'm saying is, while there needs to be a balance of research and action, is that the underlying issue? Once you've made a decision to act, you still have time to research. What stops us is not the need for research, but fear itself. We SAY we need to research, but when you look between the lines, it's fear and not research that gets in the way.

Sometimes, fear is masked by reasonable "objections", like "I'm going slowly to do this properly" or "I don't know enough yet to launch my project". And we buy into those objections, our own lies, because it's much harder to acknowledge to ourselves and to others that deep down, we are afraid: of failure, of success, that we are not worthy.

So, when that wee quiet voice in the back of your head says, "I can't do it" or any other negative comment, stop dead in your tracks and counter it. Say, "Yes, I can!" and change that destructive line of thinking. Your day, and your life will improve immeasurably!

(c) Susan James, All Rights Reserved

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