Sometimes motion is useful, but it will never produce an outcome by itself. It doesn’t matter how many times you go talk to the personal trainer, that motion will never get you in shape. Only the action of working out will get the result you’re looking to achieve.
If motion doesn’t lead to results, why do we do it? Sometimes we do
it because we actually need to plan or learn more. But more often than
not, we do it because motion allows us to feel like we’re making
progress without running the risk of failure. Most of us are experts at
avoiding criticism. It doesn’t feel good to fail or to be judged publicly,
so we tend to avoid situations where that might happen. And that’s the
biggest reason why you slip into motion rather than taking action: you
want to delay failure.
It’s easy to be in motion and convince yourself that you’re still making progress. You think, “I’ve got conversations going with four potential clients right now. This is good. We’re moving in the right direction.” Or, “I brainstormed some ideas for that book I want to write. This is coming together.”
Motion makes you feel like you’re getting things done. But really,
you’re just preparing to get something done. When preparation
becomes a form of procrastination, you need to change something.
You don’t want to merely be planning. You want to be practicing.