On Action – Intro (Part I)

At the heart of our social venture is the belief that action is the key to overcoming depression.

I love words and the incredible transformative power they hold, but in my heart I truly appreciate that no words I can put down on paper or say out loud will ever match the right action, taken at the right time, with the right intentions behind it.

At risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m going to repeat Leonard Schlesinger’s prescient words:



You can act your way into new ways of thinking.

Just to be clear, we do not at all condone the sort of condescension that says, “Get up off the couch, you bum.” No, that is not at all what we advocate. In fact, being that sort of a disciplinarian to yourself often backfires, though it may work for some people.

But before you can take meaningful action, you must believe in yourself.

This belief can be flimsy and tenuous and utterly pathetic, but it must be there, at least to some degree. Otherwise you’ll just be moving muscles, and expending ATP (energy). You’ll just be going through meaningless motions.

But so long as this spark of belief exists, you must begin to take concrete action to uplift yourself.

And you must take this action with the right thought and intention behind it.

It is thought and preparation and intention that lend action its power.

If done with the proper mindset, your action should help you believe in yourself, and that should inspire further action, and stronger belief, and so on, in a powerful positive feedback loop.

It doesn’t matter if the action you took “failed” or didn’t achieve the exact desired effect. As long as you took action with the right mindset, and having put in significant thought and preparation and intention, it will move you forward.

With all of this in mind, I’ve decided to start a series of posts on Action, of which this is the introductory post, where I will give you ideas for concrete actions you can take to overcome depression, and more broadly to change yourself .

This will be perhaps the most important category of this blog, at least from the perspective of taking action to overcome depression.

Some of my ideas may sound ridiculous. Know that they are just that – ideas.

Whether or not you try them is up to you. Whether or not they work is also up to you.

Whether or not you can overcome depression, or whatever other difficulties you may face in the course of your life, is ultimately up to you.



Ideas hold powerful potential, but they are useless unless someone uses them – puts them into action.



Just keep in mind that even if a particular idea sounds stupid or doesn’t work for you, that’s perfectly okay. Don’t get discouraged.

But it’s crucial that you keep an open mind and be willing to try things out, because you never know what might work. Keep on trying, and keep on keeping on. And if something doesn’t achieve its desired effect, I guarantee you’ll still learn from it if you pay attention.

I wish you all the best as you take action to overcome the important challenges that face you, and come out stronger and better for it.

Read the continuation post for my first idea. It will be an unusual one – it comes from a memory of an important experience of mine.

-David

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