From Thinker to Doer
Ever since I was a young kid, I have also been a good thinker. Unknowingly and luckily I have developed the ability to contemplate and enjoy thinking in solitude. This has helped in a lot of ways. I enjoy learning new things, thinking about various aspects of my life and the universe in general. But this has also affected me greatly.
Since I enjoy thinking, it comes naturally to me. But, if I need to make any changes to my life based on that thinking it requires action. That doesn't come naturally to me. I tend to postpone a lot and most often don't end up doing things that I really want to do.
This blog is one such example. I have always wanted to put my thoughts out even if no one reads it. I would absolutely love to read my own thoughts 5, 10 maybe 20 years down the line. But I always fallback into my thinking habit and go into deep thoughts like
- What should I blog about?
- Why should I write something if no one reads it?
- Will this just be a waste of time?
- I don't know if I would write consistently, then why should I start now?
All these thoughts take over my mind and I end up just postponing and not even starting. This I believe has held me back greatly not just professionally but in life as well.
There are habits I want to start, some I want to avoid, relationships I wish I held on to, some I wish I had started, some I wish I had changed, etc which due to my inaction are in worse state than I would like them to be in.
Professionally, communication is a major hurdle for me. I tend to do and like to do things by myself. But greatness rarely comes alone and being someone works at a large company with great minds all around me, I should be able to take advantage of that and do great things in life. I'm going to change that starting today.
How you might ask? There are few things I know I should be doing but I currently dont. So, I will start there.
Start reaching out to people
There were times when I think about reaching out to people either for questions, collaborations or just saying Hi in general but something just stops me from doing it. Apart from just the inertia of doing it, me being an introvert also plays a major role. I just like to left by myself and don't like to get involved in a lot of things. So, reaching out to people is a daunting tasks since it involves putting myself out there, talking to strangers, meeting and following up with them, etc. I want to improve this and so this year I'm planning to send atleast 1 email every week to people I always wanted to reach out. Even if its just to say Hi. Even if they don't respond (its fine).
Its ok if the doors don't open. But they ll never open if you don't knock.
Just do things
There are things in my every day life I always wish to change but I never do. Some of them are
- Going to sleep at a reasonable hour and get a good night's sleep every day.
- Wake up and immediately get out of bed instead of looking at your phone for an hour.
- Go to the gym. Go do jiujitsu regularly. Be physically fit and in shape.
- Don't doom scroll and be focused at whatever it is you are doing. When working do focused work.
- Time box and do tasks at those times. Don't just react to life. Plan it out and act accordingly. Process is more important than result.
These are some of the things I have been thinking of doing for a long time. I just don't do them. This year I plan to just start doing them. Its going to be hard. Its going to suck at first. But just doing them but help out. One way I think I can do them is to setup an environment for doing them instead of relying on will power.
For example, keep my phone away from my bed, so I'm forced to get up immediately after waking up. Setup app timers, so I don't doom scroll and only use my phone for a limited time.
End the year better
Every year I think about doing things and ending the year better. But I fail to do them. This year I'm actually going to do it. Starting this blog in itself is a major success towards this goal. I will keep posting more, even if its just a sentence or two. But I'll keep doing it. 2025 is going to be my year of change!