Thought is not action - ACTION is action

There is an old aphorism that "thought is action". Bunk! Bubkiss! Hooey! Shenanigans! Hokum! That's a lie. Thought is not action, ACTION is action. Thoughts may lead to action but the difference between a design for the perfect bridge and the bridge itself is a whole lot of ACTION (the Secret and every other self help book written in the last 100 years aside).

For those who don't know me I will let you in on a not-so-secret of my own: procrastination is my nemesis (evidenced by the date of my last post). Oh, I mean to do things; they are on the top of my list, but strangely they get left by the wayside. I am a man of great big ideas, ideas that inspire my passion. But, I am plagued by a lack of follow through. There is another old aphorism about eating an elephant in small bites. But this presumes you've enough oomph to take that first bite.

I find that I can say things like: "I want to blog about that". And, at the time I certainly mean it. I do want to blog about it. But, I somehow find other things to do, or, other things find me, and before you know it another hour or another day has passed and the blog entry is still unwritten, or the laundry is still undone or the car's oil is still unchanged...

There were two recent issues that I REALLY want to write about but haven't found the time/energy/motivation/oomph both involving compromise: a NYT OpEd that proposed a middle ground compromise on same sex marriage and a Time magazine OpEd that proposed a middle ground on the abortion issue. Both of these are tier 1, highest priority civil rights issues IMHO. If I can get my gumption up about ANYTHING it is about those two issues. And yet the blog is still only half written.

How do you fight procrastination? Is there a method? Is there a class I can take? Or, is it something I just need to steel myself to accept - I will always be challenged by my own lack of follow through? Tell me about your challenges - if you have them. How have you fought procrastination in your own life? Maybe you will have the magic pill I need to get some gumption.

The Talking Stick is yours...