Action

“Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?” (Patrick Henry).  My answer to that has to be no.  I have never seen someone get stronger doing nothing.  Of course, I would like it to be so.  It would be great if just by sitting in this chair I got big muscles and became a really good table tennis player.  Trouble is, I’ve tried it and it does not work.
To get better in any endeavour it seems resolution and action are needed.  To me those two need to go together.  Resolution alone is never enough, but it is vital.  I may have the best will in the world but unless I do something it counts for nothing.
I resolved to be good at my job.  Alone that was not enough.  My action was to learn what I had to do.  It did not mean I did not make mistakes.  I did.  But I made less as time went on.  Eventually matters became second nature and I went on to new challenges.  With accompanying mistakes and victories.
It is all a learning curve.  For me, nothing worthwhile has ever been obtained easily.  It has taken effort.  It has taken action. And it has taken (and I use a four-letter word) work.
I have a Level 3 in Project Management and a Certificate of Christian Ministries.  In neither case did I just need to turn up to get it.  There were times my resolve wavered.  Thankfully for one, someone encouraged me to keep going.  I did and passed.  Some things I did really well at, and some I did abysmally.  It meant though hitting the books.  It sometimes meant forgoing what would have been more fun.  But the end result was worth it. And sometimes the subject matter was engrossing.
I have found that I am most likely to quit when the going gets tough.  I used to be fond of quipping “when the going gets tough, the tough get going – fly British Airways.”  I never meant it though.  It is weird, but usually when I am least inspired that is when I gain the most by continuing.  I will never pretend it was easy though, walking with the goal totally obscured.   But without fail it was worth it.  So often when I have come out the other side it is even better than I thought.
In my mind resolution and action are always required and all that is required.  Without them I will always drift and be a pawn doing someone else’s bidding.  To me that is ok if it is what I have chosen.  But if I have not, then I do not want that.  I prefer to set my own course and no matter the obstacles or hindrances or being becalmed, arrive at a place of my own choosing.