“Never confuse motion with action.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
Have you watched a cat who is trying to catch something tasty for dinner? As a kid, I often used to watch our cat in the garden. She would find a spot on the ground where she could lie hidden under some foliage and would sit there, motionless, for a very long time. She was clearly very alert, however, and the slightest sound or movement would elicit a slight but sharp turn of the head. As soon as she saw something which she thought might make a tasty snack, she would lock onto it, wait until it came close enough, and then – at just the right moment – suddenly pounce. She usually got her prey, and I don’t think the bird or mouse ever saw what was coming.
We have been taught, for the most part, that we need to work hard to get anywhere in life. Nothing comes easy, right? Success comes from persistence, determination, blood, sweat and tears. Part of this may well be true – clarity about where we are heading and persistence are important. But I don’t believe that a great deal of effort is needed to get where we want to be. It’s more about the kind of action we take. Call it ‘working smart.’ Our cat knew all about it. I like the phrase ‘inspired action’ since this really gets to the heart of the matter. We need do something: it’s no use sitting around and expecting results to just happen. But we need to do the right thing. When we take just the right action at just the right time, amazing things can happen. We can learn a lot from the way our cat went about things.
Be clear about your intentions
It’s important to know what you want. I guess the cat knew she wanted to catch a mouse. It was her clear intention. You cannot watch for opportunities unless you know what to look for!
Become more observant
We tend to rush around, always doing stuff. But much of the time, it’s more helpful to be still, to be free from motion, to observe and wait until the right time. If our cat had just spent all her time running around the garden, I think she would have gone without her snack and ended up very tired. We have a choice: take effective action or be like a mouse in a wheel, always running, getting nowhere.
Be flexible about your intentions
Things change. We change. Sometimes we set out in one direction and then decide, for some reason, we want to change course. This is fine and even necessary. If the wind changes direction, why resist it? But we should be conscious about the process. So long as we know where we are heading, it’s OK to change direction. It’s also fine to just drift along, enjoying the ride, not worrying about the destination, so long as this is also a conscious process.
Trust your feelings
Sometimes opportunities come along that don’t seem to be the right fit. Things we have never thought about before, things that were never part of our plan, come up out of the blue. It may be the case that they are really not for us, but sometimes that unusual opportunity can be just the right thing.
It seems to me that if we have set clear intentions, things will happen to help us get to where we want to go, and they might not be obvious. Whether they are right or not, I think, can become clear if we pay attention to the way they make us feel. There may be several different feelings about something, so we may need to be still, stop thinking and let the feelings settle and become clearer. Developing this kind of sensitivity to feelings will provide an accurate compass to guide us through life.
Choose your opportunities
Our cat used to prey on young birds who were less experienced They were easier targets. With even less effort, she could be surer of success. So sometimes she left the bigger birds alone and waited for another chance.
Not every opportunity that comes along is the right one. Sometimes you can, and should, let things pass you by. Sometimes – perhaps more often than we might think – the right action is no action. Again, it is a matter of trusting our feelings or our intuition.
Come back another day
Sometimes, our cat didn’t get her meal. She did all the right things – sat quietly, observed, lay hidden, waited. And nothing came along. And sometimes, she pounced and missed, and the bird got away.
Sometimes this happens. Things don’t always work out. No matter. Tomorrow is another day and another opportunity will come along. Be ready for it.
“Luck is being ready for the chance.” – J. Frank Dobie
Photo by Doug8888
Mark,
I really love all of the ideas in this post. We make things really complicated and sometimes we end up acting just for the sake of doing something. That’s one of the things that really doesn’t help us because we just go through the motions and we exhaust ourselves with uninspired action and in the moment when the opportunity for inspired action comes about we’re too burned out to take advantage of it.
Hello,
I think this post is great. There are so many opportunities in front of us everyday, sometimes we are looking too hard to see them. We often need to take a step back, a deep breathe (or several) and see what is actually infront of us.
Many thanks for the info,
Kate.
http://www.improvedconfidence.com
Also, it gets frustrating running around. You have to be focused. This takes discipline.
I completely agree that it’s important to have a clear sense of purpose. Without that it’s impossible to recognise opportunities when they arise, or to know when something seems wrong. Without a clear sense of purpose, it’s easy to think everything is an opportunity, which can be a bit like chasing your tail – something my dog did often, but never my cat!
Thanks for a great post.
Topi
Hey Mark.
You make some great points!
The most important thing is to have absolute clarity about your intentions. If you are not sure what you want, start with what you don’t want.
Rather than chasing happiness, the Buddhist philosophy suggests that we simply choose to let go of that which makes us unhappy. The very notion of chasing something has a sense of urgency about it, doesn’t it? And, of course, with urgency comes anxiety. And with anxiety comes illness. And with illness comes unhappiness.
I think happiness comes first. It’s our ‘default’ state. When we’re in this place, the rest flows naturally. Nothing outside makes us happy (or unhappy) – all the ‘stuff’ out there has nothing to do with it.
Thank you for this post. The tip about being more observant is something I really need to apply to my own life.
Nice post! Trusting my feelings is the hardest challenge, I’m too logically focused. But, I can see what I’d gain if I could trust them. :)
Great post! I really enjoyed the ending! Most people I know, including myself, really become discouraged when luck does not work in their favor. Yet, of course, luck comes with being ready and willing! We should definitely capitalize in the good things rather than harp on the bad.
This reminds me of the job I just quit. So much truth here. People moving around in motion but no action that’s actually useful. Unfortunately motion gets recognised, action sometimes doesn’t.