Khalil Eter
I've been postponing this for two years now, if not more.
Every time I decide to start, I find a way out. An excuse. Another project to focus on. Something that suddenly becomes more urgent, more important, or simply easier to do than the thing I originally intended to execute.
And somehow, I manage to convince myself that I am making progress.
Until I realize that I am still standing in the same place.
It is about time I did something about it.
This experience made me reflect on something we hear quite often in business and personal development: Take massive action.
Some businesspeople swear by it. They tell us that success requires massive action, that we need to go all in, make bold moves, and do whatever it takes to get the results we want.
Fair enough.
But what exactly is massive action?
How do we measure whether an action is massive or not? What metric are we using? Is it the number of hours we work, the number of tasks we complete, the amount of money we invest, or the risks we take?
And what if, while we are busy trying to take massive action, we are not taking any action at all?
Perhaps we should talk about something else.
Perhaps we should talk about prompt action.
Massive action sounds impressive. But what gets done?
I have nothing against massive action. There are situations that require considerable effort, significant investment, bold decisions, and sustained commitment.
But I sometimes wonder whether the expression itself makes action seem more complicated than it needs to be.
We start believing that if we cannot do something big, we might as well wait until we can.
If we cannot dedicate enough time to a project, we postpone it.
If we cannot see the entire path ahead, we hesitate.
If we cannot execute our plan exactly as we imagined it, we convince ourselves that we need more preparation.
And so we wait.
We wait for the right circumstances, the right resources, the right moment, or the confidence that we will get it right.
Meanwhile, the thing we wanted to do remains undone.
What if the problem is not that we are failing to take massive action? What if the problem is that we are failing to take the first action?
Does prompt action mean acting impulsively?
Before going any further, let me clarify something.
I am not suggesting that we should act without thinking, ignore risks, or make decisions simply because we are tired of waiting.
Prompt action is not impulsive action.
Impulsive action is when we act without giving sufficient consideration to the consequences. Prompt action is when we stop delaying an appropriate action after we have enough clarity to take it.
How many times have we continued analyzing something we already understood well enough to begin?
At what point does preparation become procrastination?
The answer will not be the same in every situation. But it is a question worth asking ourselves honestly.
The objective is not to eliminate the time required to make a good decision. It is to eliminate the unnecessary time between making that decision and acting on it.
The problem is rarely deciding. It is executing.
Think about how many decisions you have made throughout your life.
Now think about how many of those decisions actually became actions.
There is often a considerable gap between what we intend to do and what we eventually execute.
We decide to learn something new, improve a relationship, develop a business idea, change a habit, or pursue an opportunity. The decision makes us feel as though we have already made progress.
But deciding to do something and doing it are two different things.
Sometimes, the decision itself gives us temporary satisfaction. We feel relieved because we have finally acknowledged what needs to change. We feel motivated because we can imagine the outcome.
Then reality takes over.
The work begins. Other responsibilities compete for our attention. The excitement fades. The next step becomes uncomfortable, complicated, or uncertain.
And we postpone.
We tell ourselves that we will start tomorrow, next week, or when things become less busy.
But how often do things actually become less busy?
This is why I believe execution deserves at least as much attention as decision-making.
A good decision has potential. Execution is what gives that potential a chance to become something real.
What are we losing every time we postpone?
The consequences of postponement are not always immediately visible.
We do not necessarily lose money today because we delayed a project. We do not necessarily lose an opportunity today because we avoided a conversation. And we may not immediately notice the cost of postponing a change we know we need to make.
But time continues to pass.
An opportunity may no longer be available when we finally feel ready. A conversation may become more difficult because we waited too long. A business idea may remain an idea while someone else takes the first step.
And beyond the practical consequences, there is something else to consider.
How many opportunities have we missed because we kept postponing execution?
How many experiences have we never had because we waited until we felt ready?
How many stories were never written because we never started?
How many dreams were abandoned, not because they were impossible, but because we never gave them a fair chance?
There is a difference between consciously deciding not to pursue something and repeatedly postponing it without ever making a real decision.
The first is a choice.
The second can become a pattern.
And perhaps the most difficult part is recognizing when we have fallen into that pattern ourselves.
Small actions are not necessarily small in impact
Here is another thought.
When we think about action, we tend to focus on the size of the action itself.
But what if the impact of an action has very little to do with how impressive that action looks at the beginning?
We cannot assume that every small action will produce a significant result. Some actions will lead nowhere, and others will teach us that our original assumptions were wrong.
But that is precisely why taking action matters: it allows us to discover what thinking alone cannot always tell us.
The size of an action does not reliably predict the size of its impact.
And when we begin to recognize the possible consequences of small actions, we may start to question whether there is really such a thing as an insignificant first step.
"3ala kadri 7elmika tattasi3ou l ard"
One of my favorite quotes is written on a bracelet I wear:
3ala kadri 7elmika tattasi3ou l ard.
The world expands to the size of your dreams.
I love this expression because it captures something important about the relationship between our ambitions and the possibilities we allow ourselves to pursue.
But I also believe that a dream, no matter how meaningful, needs action if it is to become more than an idea.
Our dreams may expand the world of possibilities we can imagine.
Our actions determine which of those possibilities we actually explore.
So, what should we do differently?
The point is not to act recklessly or to eliminate planning. It is to make sure that planning serves execution rather than endlessly replacing it.
And once we take that first step, we can evaluate the outcome, learn, adjust, and take the next one.
Perhaps the best action is the one we stop postponing
I started writing this article after postponing it for two years, if not more.
Does that mean the article will change anything? I do not know.
But I do know that if I had continued postponing it, I would have guaranteed that it remained unwritten.
So, what have you been postponing?
And what is one meaningful step you can take today to finally get it moving?
