Pulling the Trigger

Sometimes, it’s not what we do that matters; it’s what we do not do.
Inaction is just another form of action; there are also consequences for doing nothing.
This may be one of the things I like most about the martial arts; they are all about action. Sometimes, our intelligence gets in the way of ‘pulling the trigger’. I have friends who are like this, and I am like this on occasion. When one of my friends starts acting this way, I call him Captain Permutation. In any given argument, he will consider every single viewpoint, from every possible angle; even creating new viewpoints in the process. At the end of the discussion, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether or not he was for or against the idea, such is the length of his pros versus cons list. On one hand, I enjoy that process, it appeals to the intellectual part of my mind; but I am also aware of the dangers. If it is a philosophical discussion, there is no problem, we get to reveal the big picture and possibly even modify our original viewpoint or stance; but if we need to DO something, and DO it quickly, sometimes long-winded back and forth discussion of the hundreds of permutations will just serve to stall our ability to ACT. For example, should we invest in shares, or invest in property? There are hundreds of books written on each subject. Should we read them all before deciding where to put our money? And once we read them all, are we any clearer on what to do? After all, both sides have made hundreds of excellent points. I know plenty of very smart people, who simply fail to ACT. Their lists of why they should do this or that, or why they shouldn’t, are simply too long and to convoluted. In the end, they do nothing. Meanwhile, the simple-minded guy next door, just kept putting his savings into property (or shares) and made a killing.
Don’t misunderstand, I do believe it is better to see all sides of an argument, but not if it causes us to STALL. In the end we need to pull the trigger if we are to stay true to our warrior nature. The warrior is a being of ACTION. Think, yes – but then DO!
JBW