Have you ever even tried? 

I can be such a pussy at times.

Others tend to think that I am this big ass doer because I often make drastic changes to my life. Changes that might even appear reckless from the outside. Daring. Things they claim they wouldn’t dare to do.

On the inside, however, I’m filled with doubts and insecurities that have effectively prevented me to do the things that I would really want to do throughout my life. The last few years I’ve begun to voice these thoughts in conversations with friends. Admitting my flaws. It has, however, turned into a mindless indulgence in introspection. At times I let it get so out of hand that these confessions takes up most of the time that I have with these friends. Or that I have with myself for that matter. Time that could be better spent actually doing the things that leads to an outcome that I really want. Not just thinking about doing them.

The solution to almost all my mental troubles is action. Because all my doubts and insecurities are results of preconceived ideas of how things are “in reality”. And yet, I rarely test that reality if chances are that my doubts might be proven right or that my insecurities could be reinforced. Action tests the reality. Reality should always be tested.

Hence being a pussy.

But on the other hand the matter of fact is that I’m great at taking action, at taking risks. Whether they’re reckless or not is not a problem. It might be uncomfortable as hell but I do it. Often without hesitating.

Hesitation is the enemy. Hesitation only comes when I start thinking about whatever I would like to do. I am a fairly smart person with quite a lot of life experience (or so I think). And so as soon as I start calculating outcomes, I’m prone to see risks. And once I start seeing risks attached to uncomfortable outcomes I’m just like any other person being held back by their own limiting beliefs. I try to avoid those outcomes. They can be paralyzing even if they’re not necessarily real or even likely to occur.

The way I’ve learned to deal with this is by asking myself the question “Have you ever even tried?” If the answer is no and what I haven’t tried is an approach suggested by my mind as a way to achieve a desired outcome, I do it.

I just do it. To the best of my ability. No thinking involved. The outcomes I get are both positive and negative. But at least I’m not stuck in my own head with thoughts that prevents me from testing actions that could potentially improve my life. Make it the way I want it to be.

The difficult part is remembering to ask the question that triggers this behaviour.

Have you ever even tried? No. -> DO IT!